1000 Years: One Shots
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: This one-shot collection is based off theories I have of where the final arc may be going.
1. 1: Killing Shot

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This new one-shot collection I am creating is based on the theories my brother and I have been discussing about where the final arc of Bleach would go. I held off sharing them because some people do consider this to be a form of potential spoilers, but a few people I know are frustrated with where the Manga currently is going. I doubt they're the only people who need a pick-me-up, so here is 1000 Years: One Shots. Since this is a collection the starting rating is going to be T and if need be I'll bump it up to an M rating. Even if a theory gets disproved later on and I haven't written for it I'll still work with it for this collection._

**Title: ****_Killing Shot  
_****Genre**: Drama, Crime (sort of...)**_  
_****Characters**: Uryu, Ryuken  
**Summary**: All Quincy kill Hollows instead of sending them to Soul Society, or do they?  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 07/21/12

**Killing Shot**

The sun set over Karakura town causing a golden light to be spread over to buildings, causing the ones towards the sun set to be a charcoal gray silhouette. A white foot touched down on a certain position in the air before launching the person who it belonged to further along the route he was taking. Uryu glanced around, scanning for Hollows.

"_I wonder how things are going for Ichigo in Hueco Mundo?_" Uryu kept moving along. "_Not that it really matters._"

A crackling sound came from the air and his head turned to where a hollow was coming through and Uryu spun around to aim his bow right at the few Hollow that came through. He shot off his shots at the creatures before pausing in the air. He pushed up his glasses as he stopped to think about things. "_The pattern of the Hollows have changed? Could it be because of those supposed Quincy that came through?_"

The young man let out a deep sigh before turning to continue his patrol. "_Was the real reason I didn't go because I can't help the Hollows? While it is true that my job as a Quincy is to destroy the Hollows, I know not all of them do hurt people. I also understand full well destroying the Hollows will also cause an imbalance. While my predecessors believes in killing the Hollows I honestly don't. If I had a way of sending the Hollows over to the other side rather then killing in order to protect people I would."_

Uryu turned as another group of Hollows came through, almost as if they were trying to escape something in order to survive. He at first paused instead of taking a shot, his hesitation allowing them to close the gap towards him. "_No matter what there is going to be an imbalance. Those Quincy are going to do away with Souls in Soul Society so the world is going to end under their hands._"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bright light brushing past his head before it slammed into the Hollows in front of him. "Why do you hesitate?"

Uryu turned his head to look behind him to see the white haired man that was his father. He pushed his eye glasses up in irritation. "Who says I was hesitating?"

"If you weren't hesitating then I was underestimating your skill. Surely some of the other members of that man's group can take care of the Hollows instead." The man stated before turning to head on his way to work.

"It is my job as a Quincy to stop the Hollows that are going to harm the people in the living world." Uryu stated. "And you are underestimating my skill yet again."

"Then you were hesitating." The man turned his head back to his son. "Is there something you should be telling me?"

"I have nothing to say to the man whose abandoned the ways of the Quincy and has left the duties up to me alone." Uryu smarted off.

"Let me rephrase what I said. I felt the powers and ability of a Quincy that were not your own. There has also been a rash amount of destruction of the Hollows around here." The man stood where he was, his back to his son.

"Did you know that there was more of us around?" Asked the question.

"I simply figured out that group was dying out like our group." The man stated as if it wasn't a big deal.

Uryu finally turned to face his father. "I am not sure which question I should ask of you, if the reason you don't kill Hollows is because you know this other group may not have died out and you knew the balance could be upset by to many Hollows killed or what you actually mean by another group. Aren't all us Quincy the same?"

"The debate about whether to kill the Hollow or not to kill the Hollow was not just a debate between the Quincy and the Shinigami. It was also a debate that divided us into two groups a thousand years ago. One group of us agreed with the Shinigami, another group did not."

"Then the reason you don't fight the Hollows is because you know that doing so will cause an imbalance."

"No. Just because a Quincy can completely destroy a Hollow doesn't mean that they always do." The man then turned and walked away, making Uryu stop and think about what his father said.

"_I'll never understand that man._"

~ _Author's note – The theory behind this is that while the Quincy can destroy the Hollows completely this is because they choose revenge over justice. First, it was strange that Uryu has killed what amounts to thousands of Hollows before and there was no killing of souls in Soul Society to bring things back into balance. Second, "The Jail" made the comment that the leader of the Vandenreich thought Uryu would be stronger then Kirge Opie. Which means Uryu may be holding back simply so he passes the Hollow on rather then actually destroying them._


	2. 2: Calculations

_First, I picked Hitsugaya Toshiro and Bambietta Basterbine for the character labels for the reason. Second, I apologize for posting the wrong second chapter twice. Sadly, I had to rewrite the entire thing because I didn't save properly. Yay me._

**Title: Calculations_  
_Genre**: General**_  
_Characters**: Rin, Akon, Hiyosu  
**Summary**: All Quincy kill Hollows instead of sending them to Soul Society, or do they?  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 07/22/12

**Calculations**

Akon stood in front of the research group. "The members of the twelfth division will be going out into the Rukongai to kill twenty-eight thousand citizens of the Rukongai."

"I don't understand." Rin blinked a couple of times at the older research assistant.

"Because we need to reset the balance." Hiyosu spoke up with his big lopsided grin.

"That's not what I meant. I meant how do we know how many need to be killed." The small shinigami sat behind his computer, his mouth twisted up in confusion. "I mean, doesn't the balance need to be as close to a one on one soul ratio as possible? How can one measure how many souls were removed from existence? I know we can measure the spiritual pressure, but how can you measure the number of souls needed to rebalanced. Everyone knows it isn't exactly a one on one ratio."

"We counted the number of Hollows." Akon stated. "You remember participating in that."

"Yes... but..." Rin frowned again. "But one Hollow doesn't equal one soul. It equals the Hollows soul plus the souls that it has taken in to increase its abilities. And each soul has a different level of ability, so while you can measure how much spiritual pressure is gathered into one physical body you can't measure how many souls are in one body due to the fact they widely vary.

"Yes... well Quincy only destroy the Hollows," The man with horns looked straight at the boy and saw the look of surprise. "Some of their family members were eaten by Hollows and they want to send their family on to Soul Society, right?"

The answer seemed to please Rin. Hiyosu leaned over to whisper into Akon's ear. "Is that even true?"

"How should I know. I think we're lucky he's not asking whether or not he has to kill somebody too or not."

~ _Author's note – I don't know how many fans have actually asked the question of what happens to the souls that a Hollow eats after it has been crossed over to Soul Society or it goes to Hell. My brother and I speculate that the souls are actually released to head onto Soul Society themselves unless it was a soul that became a Hollow because of past crimes on Earth and then they head to Hell. This is why too when the Espada that died and went to Hell were weak against the other Hollows, they lost the souls __that gave them their strength and had to find another strength. I know it may be considered a bit of romantic thinking, but Ichigo's mother can't come back if this isn't the case. This way she has a chance to go to Soul Society. _


	3. 3: Cold Truth

_Author's note – This is my first time using the new copy-paste method for uploading. This may come in handy for me as I do have a problem with uploading before I've saved which is why there was a repeat of chapter two the other day. We'll see how well it works._

**Title**: Cold Truth_**  
**_**Genre**: Drama, Suspense_**  
**_**Characters**: Uryu, the Vandenreich Leader  
**Summary**: What Uryu and the others know about the Quincy is only part of the truth, there is more to their lineage then what he and the others have been told. The leader spills the beans  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**:

**Cold Truth**

The Vandenreich Leader sat in his throne with his legs crossed, looking at the captured Quincy from the living world that was forced onto his knees with his hands tied behind his back. Uryu glared at the man with his blue eyes, his eye glasses cracked from the fight he had been in before they captured him. The man watched him with amusement.

Finally Uryu let out a deep sigh. "If you are going to kill me, just go ahead and kill me."

"Kill you? You're one of us aren't you?" The man stated with a smirk on his face. The teenagers mouth remained shut in protest. The man then spoke up again. "Do you think our attacks on the Shinigami was unjustified?"

The young man spoke up. "I know that the Shinigami killed a good deal of us off two hundred years ago, but the fact is we were causing an imbalance to the system. We could have caused the destruction of the world. This is about getting revenge on them for what happened two-hundred years ago."

"Our move actually wasn't about getting revenge for two-hundred years ago. Our revenge... if you can call it that relates to when we were kicked out of soul society a thousand years ago."

"That's impossible." Uryu's mouth twisted up in consternation. "We Quincy were scattered across the world and then came together here."

"Why would a group that is scattered across the world come together in one place if they are not related? All of us came from Soul Society and we were scattered across the world. The whole issue came about when we... the original ones who left... decided we were tired of letting our own be killed by the Hollows. It wasn't as if we had the option of those in the living world to see them again once we died."

"But it is still about the disagreement of what is better, to send the Hollows to where they belong or completely destroy them."

"No... this is about us being kicked out of our homes. The Quincy that were killed off two-hundred years ago was of a different group. While it may be true that you have ties to them we do not." The man continued to smirk. "So why shouldn't we take over the throne of Soul Society so we can return?"

"If you destroy the shinigami then who will control the balance."

"We will. It isn't as if we always destroy the Hollow and it isn't as if the shinigami always send them on. It depends on the hearts place. Justice or revenge. Not all of the Quincy were for destroying the Hollows but all of us were forced out. You of all people know what soul society and its laws are like."

"But what you don't tell me is whether or not you personally agreed with destroying the Hollows or letting them pass one."

"I believe in justice. I'm the leader, but which ever way my people sided with I couldn't let them be kicked out of their homes so we fought back. It is as simple as that."

_~ Author's note – The Quincy's history is vague. We know they were a clan that was scattered across the world. Their specialty was taking care of the hollow problem. Of course... we get this information from Urahara who happens to have a bad habit of leaving things out. The academy has stopped teaching about them and Uryu only has the information he learned from his grandfather. My brother noted to me that the army of the Gotei Thirteen are missing two elements. They have a major lack of true long range weapons and they don't have what would be called "tanks". The Quincy are equivalent to the first._


	4. 4: Changing the Academy

**Title**: Changing the Academy_**  
**_**Genre**: Historical (when Kyoraku and Ukitake joined the academy)_**  
**_**Characters**: Yamamoto, Kyoraku, Ukitake  
**Summary**: Kyoraku and Ukitake  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 07/24/12

**Changing the Academy**

Ukitake walked into his classroom letting out a deep yawn as he sat down. His head hit the wooden table used for lectures. There were honestly no girls to chase and harass. He let out another deep yawn wondering why the teachers had decided to call a special lecture for today. He and Ukitake had just started at the academy a few weeks ago and the classes were honestly boring.

The person giving the lecture came into the room and his head darted up as he recognized the man as Yamamoto, one of the higher ups. Letting out a deep sigh he grumbled about the situation. "Why is the old man teaching us? Doesn't he have better things to do?"

Ukitake came into the room and sat down next to his friend. "It may have something to do with the recent event that occurred in Soul Society."

"What recent event?" Kyoraku rolled his head slightly off his crossed arms so he could look his friend in the face.

"A group was kicked out of soul society. Apparently they decided it was best to completely eradicate the Hollows rather then sending them onto Soul Society." The white haired youth frowned. "There is going to be changes in the academy."

"How come you know about this?" The lazy young man asked.

"How come you don't know about this? My families status is lower in the ranks then yours." Ukitake frowned at his friend as the corner of his mouth twisted up. "A group decided that they wouldn't stand for Hollows getting to come to Soul Society if they kill off their family members."

"I'm not understanding why this is a bid deal. If I had to defend my family I wouldn't care to have Hollows coming to Soul Society." Kyoraku let out another yawn and his head rolled so that he was now facing forward and his eyes were closed, his chin flat on the desk while his arms were moved off the desk from boredom.

"Except destroying the Hollow means that the balance of Souls between the world of the living and soul society becomes imbalanced." The white haired youth felt the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Then just kick them out of Soul Society like it was decided." The young man let out a deep sigh.

"Except they exiled the entire part of the armed forced that specialized in long range attacks."

Kyoraku remained silent before opening his eyes. "Why the entire group?"

"I'm not sure why. I hear there was a major feud and major fighting." Ukitake sighed.

Another student came into the classroom and walked up to Yamamoto. "Is the rumor true that we won't just be studying to become shinigami's anymore but we'll be learning things for the Kido Squad and the Onimitsukido?"

"What of it?" The man glared at the student.

"I came here to be trained as a shinigami. I didn't come to be trained as a part of the other three military combat groups."

Yamamoto placed a hand on the stack of books. "You'll be learning from your text books that there are now only three groups and no longer four. The decision has been made that in order to not lose any of the teachings everything shall be taught to all students."

Kyoraku's head suddenly darted up. "Wait a second. So what you said about everyone getting banished was correct. They even banished the teachers."

"I heard the conflict was pretty bad." Ukitake frowned.

"Why can't the teachers of the forth group teach a new group." The student continued to complain. "Or why can't the forth group find new teachers? It isn't fair to push extra work onto us."

"No, it wasn't fair of the forth group to push extra work on us. Because they were going around destroying Hollows the other three groups had to fix the imbalance. More hard work isn't a bad thing as we are going to have more work now that the forth group has been exiled. We also have to be on the watch out to make sure they don't start causing an imbalance. They know full well they are on a strict watch."

_~ Author's note – Lets say the theory of the previous chapter was true. We also know that a thousand years ago Yamamoto failed to kill the leader of the Vandenreich. Another fact we know is that the Academy wasn't always known as the "Spiritual Arts Academy". When it was originally founded it was called the "Shinigami Academy." It now trains students not just to be shinigami, but also Kido Corps and the Secret Police. What if the reason for this change was due to Soul Society losing the Quincy a thousand years ago as part of their army._


	5. 5: Pure Ones

**Title**: Pure One_**  
**_**Genre**: Horror_**  
**_**Characters**: Bambietta Basterbine, Komamura Sajin  
**Summary**: BB reveals exactly what a Pure One is out of pure boredom during her fight with Komamura Sajin.  
**Rating**: M  
**Date Posted**: 07/25/12

**Pure One**

The female child looked right at the dog like captain in front of her. Under normal circumstances a _dog person_ would be considered cute, but in this situation there was nothing cute about the _thing_. It was huge and bulky. _Dog persons _were supposed to be around the size of regular people or smaller. They were also supposed to be of cuter breeds of dogs with big floppy ears and long, fluffy waggly tails.

On top of this the _dog persons's_ Bankai was boring as well as his Shikai. It was just one big old cumbersome beast that smashed things into putty. There was no cutting things neatly in half or nice neat cuts. Bambietta raised a small hand to her mouth before letting out a deep yawn. The _dog person_ raised an eyebrow at her action. "I take it you are not enjoying this fight despite the fact you have the advantage."

With one eye closed and one open and looking straight at him she paused in mid yawn. "Smashing things isn't fun. I like cutting and dicing things up. However... I know something that will spice things up."

The girl's small hand reached up to her open eye and then slowly moved it to the side. The site Komamura and his fukutaicho saw caused them to flinch. Upon the girls face was a Hollow mask that covered the upper corner of her face. It was adorned with blood red coloring under the eyes like the mask of an oni and the make up was blood red in color. Bambietta stuck out her tongue. "Do you know what color I like better then the color of blood?"

The fukutaicho spoke up. "I thought the Quincy hated Hollows and sought to destroy all of them."

Bambietta's eyes narrowed at Komamura as she continued to smirk at him. "Having Hollow powers isn't the same as being a Hollow. Hollows are no better then animals. But I see why you would sympathize with them as you are an animal yourself."

The girl's eyes sent a familiar chill down his spine. "You didn't answer my question doggie about what my favorite color is." At this she materialized a reaper and fire appeared on the edge. "I like the color of fire doggie because watching things burn is as much fun as chopping them up."

With that, she licked her lips.

_~ Author's note – What is a pure one? The term is brought up briefly by a few characters but no one has gone into what that is. This theory works with the idea that a Pure One is someone who has had training with Shinigami, Quincy and Hollow abilities. I've got a few fanfics dealing with this theory too. Oh... and I know he's not a "dog person". It's limited third person from Bambietta's point of view. And yes... I decided to up the rating as of this chapter._


	6. 6: Cousins

_Dear Sad Anonymous Reviewer,_

_If you weren't an anonymous review I would reply to your question via PM. I also can't reply to your question via an author's note lest I have a spoiler for those who've decided to hold off reading the Manga. However, next chapter I'll write you something to cheer you up. I don't guarantee it will come true mind you as it is based off theory. For those who don't want spoilers I'll be adding a chapter number now at the end of one-shots that contain spoilers so people can skip them. The one thing I ask in return is that people who do read "spoiler chapters" is to refrain from leaving "spoiler reviews" as much as possible._

_Sincerely, Yemi Hikari_

**Title**: Cousins_**  
**_**Genre**: Family, Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: The Kurosaki, Ishida families, Toshiro  
**Summary**: Ichigo's memories from around the time his Mother died and before are somewhat vague. Even when another funeral crops up he can't remember those memories well.  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 07/28/12

**Cousins**

Ichigo lay on his bed with his eyes covered by his arm. He was dressed in one of his father's nice suits so that he could go to the other substitute's funeral later on. Chances are he would be the only person who would be going to this funeral as the man hurt many people without looking back. A knock came at the door and he removed his arm. "Come in."

Karin crept into the room and Ichigo saw that she was dressed in an actual dress. "Ichi-nii?"

The substitute shinigami sat up before letting out a deep sigh. "You don't need to go to the funeral Karin. You didn't know the guy."

"But you did." The small female glanced to the side, one hand reaching up to pull on the strap of her black dress.

"Is that why you are here?" Ichigo smiled at her. "You still dont..."

The girl shook her head. "Ichi-nii, do you remember Grandpa Rin?"

The boy suddenly blinked a couple of times. "I've... heard the name before. But I honestly don't remember who he is."

"He was the father of uncle's wife." Karin held her hands behind her back. "You really don't remember going to his funeral?"

"_Here we are with Tsukishima's ability again. I thought they would have forgotten about him. If Yuzu and Karin think he's our cousin still..._"

"I don't know who that person is. I've seen our cousin around, but I don't think he remembers us from the funeral. Not that it really matters." The girl continued to look at her brother.

"I didn't say anything..." Ichigo shook his head. "This is like the parakeet? Wouldn't you and Yuzu have been real little?"

"It's strange really, a couple of days ago Yuzu and I only remembered a few flashes of Grandpa Rin and that cousin of ours. But I'm seeing it clear as day now." Karin sat down on her brother's bed next to him.

"I honestly don't remember having any family outside mom, dad and you guys." Ichigo felt his younger sister suddenly lightly touch his hand and he found himself relaxing for a bit.

**M**

_A lot of people stood around in black clothing. A woman with light hair held onto the hand of a small boy with orange hair. She hummed a calming tune as a girl with brown hair held onto the woman's black dress front. Next to the woman stood a man with a beard who was holding another little girl with black hair._

_The girl that was held in the female's arms suddenly glanced up. "Mama... where is Grandpa Rin. Daddy said we were going to his funeral. That means we're visiting him, right?"_

"_While it is true that we're visiting him, we're not going to be able to see him. He's... gone on to a better place." The woman let out a soft chuckle. "Everything will be all right you know."_

"_There have been a lot of funerals of late." The man standing next to the woman spoke up."_

"_Now papa, you don't need to be so pessimistic. What happened to your usual optimistic spirit."_

"_I'm going to speak with your brother and see if something is going on." Isshin sighed._

_The woman shook her head. "You shouldn't worry about things when you don't have your powers. My father and brother can very well take care of things."_

"_I'm supposed to be the one protecting the family." The man shook his head._

"_But it's supposed to be my job!" The boy with the orange hair suddenly piped up. "That's why you called me Ichigo."_

"_It's Uryu-nii!" Karin suddenly piped up. Her hand reached out towards a short figure with glasses in excitement. Isshin suddenly put the girl down and she hurried over to the older boy. "Is Uryu-nii going to come over and play with Ichi-nii again?"_

"_Not today. Ichigo and I'm going over to Grandpa Soken's to practice some stuff."_

"_I want to go too!" The girl piped up._

"_You can't! You're a girl!" Ichigo piped up._

_Karin began to stomp her feet on the ground._

**M**

Ichigo let his hand wrap gently around Karin's hand as she wasn't wanting to leave. With his free arm he covered his eyes again. "So, Karin... is something bothering you?"

"Are you sure you don't remember Grandpa Rin or the funeral?" Karin glanced at her brother.

"I don't exactly like remembering stuff from before mom died. It's painful." The boy sat up suddenly and let go of her hand as he did. Glancing at the clock he let out a deep sigh. "I really need to get going. You don't have to come to this you know."

"I do though." Karin got up and hurried after her brother. It seemed as if Ichigo was trying to make his steps longer in order to avoid taking her along with him. This became foiled when his father stepped in front of them in his own suit.

"You guys aren't going." The orange haired teen let out a deep sigh of frustration.

"Why not? Somebody needs to make food for all of your friends Ichi-nii." Yuzu piped up. "Urahara-san said I could help with the cooking. Do you know how many people are going to show up?"

"I guess us and Urahara as we're borrowing his place for the service." Ichigo shook his head. They continued along their way until they got to the place and the boy was in a bad mood. Karin decided to go on ahead, only to bump into a rather tall figure and cause him to go crashing to the ground.

**M**

_Soken sat on the roof of the place he lived and watched the two boy's chatting with each other. Uryu suddenly began to protest something. "What do you mean by friends that only you can see? And these monsters too. Don't you..."_

"_Uryu..." Soken motioned for the boy to head over to him and the boy got close enough to whisper into his ear. "I've told you before that Ichigo doesn't know much about these matters. He isn't able to come and see me as much as you get to."_

"_But his parents both can see ghosts and they don't pretend as if the gift to see Hollows exist like father."_

"_Your cousin's parents situation is complicated. Neither one of them are wanting to draw attention of the Soul Reapers. And no, your cousin can't see Hollows like you can yet."_

"_Just like father? Is that why Uncle Isshin doesn't use Quincy powers?"_

"_No, for different reasons actually."_

**M**

Karin let out a deep breath before the person she crashed into sat up and pushed her off of him. The male pushed his glasses up. "Ahh... Karin-chan."

"Uryu-nii?" The girl blinked a couple of times. The boy simply looked out of her out of surprise.

"I wouldn't say I'm that close to your brother." Uryu helped her up.

"If Karin wants to call you that I don't really care." Ichigo began to pick at the inside of his ear. "I don't understand why you're here. You want nothing to do with..." The orange haired teen paused as Isshin pushed Yuzu in through another door. "You don't want anything to do with soul reapers and he was a substitute for them."

"I'm here because a few things still bother me, though I doubt this will answer my questions. Actually, I don't know if you'll be able to answer my questions either because they likely haven't told you much."

Karin's brother let out a deep sigh and simply followed after his father and the light haired twin. The dark haired girl suddenly grabbed Uryu's wrist. "You don't remember Grandpa Rin's funeral either?"

**M**

_A drizzle fell down on the graveyard. Uryu glanced over at his cousins who were with their father. The two girls were sobbing their heads off while Ichigo simply stood there with his eyes glazed over. When he had spoken with his cousin the boy had acted like he hadn't known who he was. However, that was understandable as they boy had lost someone he cared about. He remember how it felt to lose his own mother._

_He glanced up at his father and grandfather. "So Aunt Masaki isn't going to be coming back? She's really dead?"_

"_Yes. She isn't coming back." Soken had a sad look in his eyes._

"_Was she also killed by a Hollow?" Uryu spoke up before frowning._

"_I thought I told you to stop with that talk about Hollows." His father spoke up._

_Soken let out a deep sigh. "He might as well know the truth. Ichigo doesn't realize what happened, but his mother was indeed killed by a Hollow. The Hollow was after Ichigo."_

_Uryu turned towards his father. "That's why we need to fight with the Shinigami!"_

"_Enough." Ryuken glared at his father. "You promised me."_

"_I know. Your promise is that he doesn't have to forget everything." Soken sighed._

"_What are you talking about?" Uryu blinked a couple of times._

"_This was actually Isshin's idea mind you. I don't like tampering with memories. That said, I can't blame him for wanting the boy's to forget what they can. Children shouldn't know __this__ kind of pain._

**M**

Uryu blinked a couple of times. "Grandpa Rin... he was..." The boy glanced down at Karin. After a few seconds of frowning at her he spoke up again. "He was my mother's father. How do you know that name?"

"We were allowed to call him Grandpa too before he died. Uncle Ryuken and Grandpa Soken and mom said it was all right to do so as dad's parents weren't alive." Karin spoke up.

Again Uryu blinked a couple of times again. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"My mother's name is... was Masaki. You were at her funeral along with your father and Grandpa Soken." The girl looked the older teen straight in the eyes.

"You actually remember that far back? You couldn't have been very old when your mother passed away." The young male spoke up, shaking his head at Karin.

"But you don't deny the fact that my mother was your aunt?" The child looked up at him with a pleading look.

"I don't deny it. I noticed that your brother had Quincy traits to his reiatsu before he became a substitute soul reaper. I thought for some time I was mistaken, but over the last year I remembered a few things I had forgotten." Uryu shook his head. "I'll repeat though, if I had trouble remembering how do you remember."

"I _don't_ remember a person who tampered with mine and Yuzu's memories. One of the memories he messed with was the one with Grandpa Rin's funeral. The others were when Toshiro played soccer with us. He was such a jerk to make me forget about my best friend too."

"None of the other people remember him tampering with their memories." Uryu shook his head at Karin.

The girl's head tilted to the side. "I kind of have a similar ability and I can't control it. I should admit to you here that I saw a couple of your memories. Normally I can block it off but I've been frazzled ever since my own memories were messed with. I'm saying this because I really do need to apologize to you, particularly since you're family."

"That's..."

"So Kurosaki and Kurosaki are related to the Quincy?" The voice of the youngest taicho caused Uryu to turn his head to look at the unexpected intruder.

"Hitsugaya..." Uryu frowned at the small shinigami that was standing in front of him in regular clothing. "What are you doing here?"

Toshiro frowned at the physically older teen. After a pause, he finally spoke up. "I'm here for the funeral. If taicho knew Kurosaki's mother before he left Soul Society that would explain why he talked to me about the Quincy like he did. It's not in the books at the academy."

"Are you telling me that the Kurosaki family are hybrids?" The young man shook his head. "No... that actually explains a lot. It also explains why Kurosaki decided to distance himself from his father like he did over the last year... wait... you said he was your former taicho? Is this really something you should be talking about in front of Karin-chan?"

"Kurosaki told you about her ability, right? I found out taicho was alive and had some... things to deal with. I didn't know about her ability before that. I'm lucky she didn't go off on me for not telling her the truth about her dad and instead was worried about how I was doing finding out someone I thought was dead was actually alive."

"I would think that you of all people wouldn't be comfortable with sharing your personal issues with people." Uryu shook his head.

"I wasn't happy about it at first." The corner of Toshiro's mouth twisted up.

"Correction. You completely freaked out. You didn't freak out like a normal person would by telling my off and telling me I was wrong either. You kept acting like you were the guilty party. It was very weird you know, particularly since you were dealing with being angry at my dad, the fact you don't like not telling me things and the fact you felt that dad should be the one to tell me the truth not you. And you ended up being the one to tell me the truth."

The small shinigami's mouth opened and closed. "She got all of that without me telling her. I also found out it was easier to talk about stuff with her when she'd seen one of my memories."

"It took you awhile to realize that though."

"And so you're on good terms with your father?" Uryu shook his head.

"Dad doesn't know that I know yet. There is a reason Toshiro's hiding his reiatsu right now."

"I'm also the one who asked her to come despite the fact she didn't know the other substitute shinigami. I wasn't a captain at the time, but I did get caught up in the mess."

"So it is something you have to do?" Uryu let out a deep sigh. "Never mind... you two are both stubborn."

The funeral would be interesting. While not all of his questions would be answered, some already were. On top of this a few more questions came up.

_~ Author's note – Do you guys remember the Fullbringer Arc that a lot of people disliked and thought was pointless? It may not be as pointless as some people think and was there to drop some clues for people to pick up if they weren't too disenchanted with the story line. One of the weak points to Tsukishima Shukuro's powers is in order to insert his presence into someone's past he needs to remove the presence of another person. Yuzu specifically says that he is their cousin and the last time they saw him was at the funeral of Grandpa Rin. _


	7. 7: Revival (502)

_Just a friendly reminder to keep an eye out for chapters that have numbers attached to the ends of their names. These will contain spoilers for those particular chapters. So if you haven't read chapter 502, stop reading here._

**Title**: Revival_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Horror_**  
**_**Characters**: Byakuya, As Nodt and a special surprise quest  
**Summary**: Byakya has failed Renji and Rukia... or has he.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 07/28/12

**Revival**

The feeling of failure is painful. It eggs on death as it eats away at the will to fight and live another day. Byakuya's vision blurred and his mind wandered as he tried not to focus on the fact he failed to save two people he cared greatly about. There was nothing he could physically do as he was at his physical limits and his body honestly couldn't handle any more.

Fear also played a huge role as he had for the first time tasted true fear and learned what he feared the most. Because he couldn't act he found his fears coming true. He also found all the promises he made falling apart simply because... a voice broke out from the back of his mind. "_You lost because you don't have the power to fight them without your Bankai, you need something else._"

"_I have a feeling of __who__ you are and I am not sure if I'm willing to go there._"

"_But you found that information out in the Kuchiki archives._" The _thing_ was right as Byakuya had been researching over the last year as he was curious as to how he could become stronger despite the fact he knew full well he had reached his fullest potential. "_The question is, why is it that you want to become stronger, there had to be a reason._"

"_So I don't have to face __that__ fear" _Kuchiki remembered what he had read in the books.

"_And yet you know full well that in order to control me you have to face your greatest fear._"

Byakuya thought carefully about the whole situation. "_I fear losing Rukia, not being able to move and save her. That fear has come true as the chance of her being alive after someone took her out is slim. However, I can't give up this fight just because she is gone. She would not be happy with me doing this so I have to continue to fight._"

"_But that isn't the only thing you are feeling._"

"_I remember how much enjoyment I got simply from being able to fight to the brink of death. I've never been as close as this._"

"_I suggest opening your eyes..._"

At that, Byakuya opened his eyes to see a red mist. The person who had stolen his Bankai was now paying him no attention as they spoke with their friends. First one limb moved and then another. He could feel the mask formed over his face. A certain someone would learn that fear would not control him any more then it did Kenpachi.

_~ Author's note – I was asked to give my opinion of chapter 502 and here it is. The sad fact is Tite Kubo pretty much never mentions that a character has died in his Manga storyline. Despite the fact I do like Byakuya I am not surprised that he's been killed off. The characters that are most likely to die in the final arc are the characters the writer is not fond of, the characters that can't grow any more and a few characters that's death would make a really big statement. Byakuya's character falls under "character that can't grow anymore". However, there is the chance Tite Kubo may Hollowfy Byakuya instead of killing him off. Now, some people may say, "but you just said he can't grow as a character anymore". The only way Byakuya can grow as a character is by pulling this move. Don't hold out for this to happen, it is JUST a theory._

_P.S. I like the idea of writing something to honor a character when they've been killed off. However, when the fanfic is pure wish fulfillment I think we all need to face the fact those fanfics aren't written to honor the canon character. They're written for self-gratification for both the writer and the reader._


	8. 8: Pure Zero

**Title**: Pure Zero_**  
**_**Genre**: Drama_**  
**_**Characters**: Shinji, a surprise quest... well, some people may be able to guess it, Momo  
**Summary**: Byakya has failed Renji and Rukia... or has he.  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 07/30/12

**Pure Zero**

Four of the captains managed to lose their Bankai, to have them stolen off them by their Quincy opponents. Shinji moved towards where he felt one of the Quincy was located and found himself thankful that he had another trick up his sleeve other then his Bankai. He could feel Hinamori Momo approaching him and he turned to look at the small female.

"Is Shiro-chan going to be all right?" Momo piped up, her eyes filled with worry.

"_That child prodigy is an idiot and I have to now deal with this mess of Momo-chan worrying about his safety._" Shinji turned his head to grin at the small female shinigami. "You forget that Hitsugaya Toshiro is a taicho and..."

"But he just lost his Bankai," Momo interupted.

The man sighed before scratching his head. "If you would have let me finished... he is a child genius, the youngest taicho in the history of the Gotei Thirteen. He isn't a fool. Plus, he has Matsumoto Rangiku watching his back and she isn't a fool either despite the fact she pretends to be one."

"If he's so smart then why did he go and lose his Bankai. Only an idiot would do that!" The small female began to bounce back and forth with anxiety.

"We need to focus on our opponent and then if he needs rescuing we can see what we can do." Shinji felt like mentally kicking himself. "_Why did she have to repeat what I was thinking? The kid really isn't an idiot, but he does pull some stupid moves that someone of his intelligence level shouldn't be pulling. He's worse then Ichimaru about letting his childishness get in the way at the worst times. Then again, he doesn't __know__ how to act like a child._"

Trust was something he had worked hard to gain with Hinamori, but trust wouldn't ever change the girls personality. She would always be someone who would worry and react to the smallest things. Upon coming across their opponent Shinji had an idea that Momo would unintentionally do something that would cause him to need to save her. And that unfortunately ate up the time he could keep his mask on.

"_There goes my trump card._" Shinji held an unconscious Momo under his arm. He had to make the decision there to fight an opponent he couldn't fight or get his subordinate to safety. His eyes widened upon seeing the

However, before he could make his decision someone moved in between him and the Quincy. He blinked a couple of times as he saw a captain's haori... a haori with the symbol for the zero squad. The person turned their face to look at him and a Hollow mask was upon the persons face. Shinji found himself flinching at first, but then something familiar about the reiatsu he felt hit him. "_It can't be..._"

The woman tilted her mask up. "It is good to see you alive Hirako."

"Hikifune Kirio..." Shinji recovered himself, but found himself frowning. "I am guessing that one of the requirements to become a member of the Zero Squad is to have a Hollow form."

"The members of the Zero Squad gained their Hollow forms a different way then you Vizard did." The woman watched as his face didn't change despite his irritation. "What? You didn't think we didn't pay attention to what was going on in Soul Society?"

"I think the better question is why the Zero Squad has been moved out. Their duty isn't to protect Soul Society, it is to protect the royalties."

"Obviously we felt we needed to move in order to protect the royalties. Simple as that."

_~ Author's note – What gets a person into the zero squad? Well, what if they aren't just the level of a captain but they've also either had training in Quincy abilities (this would explain why there hasn't been any new members to the zero squad for some time now) and/or they have a Hollow form thatTru occurs naturally rather then one that is forced and they can control their inner Hollow._


	9. 9: Pure Ire

**Title**: Pure Ire_**  
**_**Genre**: Drama_**  
**_**Characters**: Aizen, Hikifune  
**Summary**: Time to turn back the pendulum to see an event in the past.  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 07/31/12

**Pure Ire**

The taicho of the twelfth division walked through the wooden hall ways with Hiyori hot on her heals. The girl was moody as Hikifune would only be a few more days at her post before she was transferred up to the ranks of the Zero Squad. She came to a particular corner and paused upon seeing a man with glasses standing there. "Congratulations on making it into the Zero Squad."

"Are you really here to congratulate me or are you here to speak to me about something?" The woman smiled despite the fact she of all people knew Aizen Sosuke's personality all to well as she happened to have watched him grew up. While he hid a certain fluke in his personality from most of the world she had always seen it. "Hiyori, there is some paper work that I would like you to finish in the office."

The small shinigami blinked a couple of times before heading off without complaining. Aizen then spoke up. "How is it that you've ended up in the Zero Squad?"

"Are you doubting my abilities?" The woman shook her head. "Or do you doubt your own."

"I don't doubt either." Aizen glanced at her. "However, what am I missing that you have?"

"Well, for starers I have a Bankai while you do not."

"I have a Bankai." The man scoffed.

"There is a difference between creating an illusion of a Banka and really having one." Hikifune shook her head. "As long as there are captains that know that your zampaktuo's true identity is that of illusion rather then water based then you won't move up to the rank of captain either. And if you don't have Bankai you won't be able to get what is needed to be in the Zero Squad. Actually, what is needed is lost."

"Then tell the future generations as the generation that is in the Zero Squad will eventually age and no longer be able to guard the royal family due to age."

The woman let out a deep sigh. "We've always been sworn to secrecy on this matter."

"Yet I know that you were asked to join as soon as you gained a Hollow form." Aizen glared now at the woman.

"Mind you, you should keep that to yourself. There is another element that is missing from the academies curriculum that has been missing for many years now, long before you joined the academy. And still, if you don't have a good communication with your zampatkuo you will not have a good communication with your inner Hollow. If you were to achieve a Hollow form we would likely have to kill you."

"None of your words are justified. You can't assume that I'll fail to control my Hollow as simply as that."

"I know what I am talking about. Don't try to press your luck."

_~ Author's note – This idea continues with the one I presented yesterday. However, this deals with the theory that Aizen wanted into the Zero Squad and felt he had the ability to do so, but was turned down because he wasn't a Pure One among other things._


	10. 10: New Generation

_ So, Tite Kubo is sick this week so we don't get a new chapter. On the positive side of things this gives me more time to write my one-shots and I can get them out before certain theories are proved or disproved._

**Title**: New Generations_**  
**_**Genre**: Drama_**  
**_**Characters**: Bambietta Basterbine  
**Summary**: Why do the Vandenreich want to attack?  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 08/01/12

**New Generations**

Small footsteps that went unheard went across the ground as the small figure approahced the training grounds. Bambietta's mouth twisted up into a smirk as she looked at the other children of the Vandenreich watched their teacher as he explained that days lesson. She then leaned against a place with her arms crossed. The small children focused their eyes on the man as he explained things to the little ones.

The smile however left her face upon hearing a male voice suddenly speak up. "I and the other guys have been asking you to go out with us for some time. How long are you going to keep saying no?"

Bambietta stuck her nose in the air. "I told you, when you guys you have beat me on the training fields of course."

"That isn't fair... she's far above the rest of us." One of the other males muttered.

"You're never going to get a boyfriend that way Basterbine." Another female stated. "You're the only one of us whose blood line contains a shinigami parent."

The female reached up and brushed her hair away from her face. She then spun around on her heals. "Actually... I'm going to go and pick out my fiance. He's going to learn how to use Quincy abilities too."

The boy who had spoken up first suddenly snapped his words out at her. "How is that fair! They're the group that kicked our families out of Soul Society in the first place! Why are you siding with the enemy?"

"Who says I'm siding with the enemy? I'm just doing what I need to do in order to keep the bloodline strong. You all should think about that too... just because you have someone you like doesn't mean they're the person you need to end up with." And with that she headed on out with a bounce to her step.

_~ Author's note – Tite Kubo has said that the Vandenreich's attack on soul society would leave the place pretty much devastated. However, soul society has faced being killed and the buildings destroyed before. The V also know if they kill to many people in soul society that they'll end up destroying themselves. There is only one thing I can think of then that would be worse then what they've seen before. It would be the taking of the children. But why? Because they need the children to build up their future generations._


	11. 11: Whom

**Title**: Whom_**  
**_**Genre**: Suspense_**  
**_**Characters**: Urahara, the "gang" and a few surprises  
**Summary**: Who was it that pointed their blade at Urahara's neck?  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 08/01/12

**Whom**

The man with the striped hat knew that _The J_ wasn't joking when he said he would use the last of his strength to kill the small group in Hueco Mundo. He also knew that while he could protect himself with his zampaktuo's ability he honestly could not protect the others. However, as he was standing there watching Kirge, the Vandenreich was split down the metal in half.

The next thing he knew a blade was at his throat and his eyes looked straight at the person. At first his mouth opened but then spread into a smirk. "Well, well... I didn't expect you of all people... Ichimaru Gin."

The man with the silver hair looked at Urahara, a frown plastered over his face. "Ney... I didn't want to be bothered. I think you know that very well."

The striped hat man took in the figure in front of him and noticed that he was using his left arm instead of the right which was missing. Urahara also couldn't help but note that the man's hair had gone from a pale silver color to a completely white color which had increased in length. "Do you really think I was trying to bother you?"

"You're a person who happens to plan out everything Urahara-san. You of all people knew that you could find me here and knew that your presence would draw me out." The man's pale teal eyes were open slightly as he glared at the man.

"It's rather sad that you lost that nice smile of yours Gin-chan." The man let out a deep sigh.

"Ichimaru? What are you up to?" A voice came to their ears before pausing.

Chad suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Ashido-san?"

"I guess instead of asking what trouble my friend is getting up to I should probably ask what is going down in Soul Society." The man folded his arms across his chest before turning his head to look at the silver-haired man. "Ichimaru... you know that Urahara has to be here because something isn't going well."

Pesche blinked a couple of times before pointing his finger right at Ichimaru. "You do realize he worked with Aizen?"

"So?" There was a pause of silence as Ichimaru retained his blade at Urahara's neck. Ashido let out a deep sigh. "News spread fast among the Hollows that he is a double traitor. If it weren't for that I wouldn't know a thing."

Chad piped up with a question. "Aren't you out to destroy as many Hollows as possible?"

"I'm here to send the Hollows on to Soul Society or hell, which ever way they can go. Truth of the matter is..." There was another pause and Ashido walked over and placed a hand on his companions shoulder. "They aren't a threat, you can withdraw your blade."

Ichimaru complied without saying a word but retained a rather cautious look on his face. Ashido then spoke up. "What I was saying was that having a companion that doesn't speak much is better then having none, and having some of the Arrancar who have a good heart in their heads is also not a bad thing either. So, what is going on?"

Orihime opened her mouth. "A group of Quincy decided to attack Soul Society."

Ichimaru glanced up suddenly. "What about Rin-chan and Shiro-chan?"

Urahara stood up. "Akon told me that Hitsugaya Taicho was one of the captains who lost his Bankai."

"Then I'm going back. I don't care if I'm executed for being a traitor."

"What about your arm?" Orihime piped up.

The silver-haired man glared at her. "I can fight well enough without it."

"Yes... you took out one of them rather easily." Urahara sighed. "But you'll be able to fight better if Orihime-chan restores your arm to its original state of actually existing!"

Gin maintained a bit of silence but remained where he was while the girl from the living world did what she did best.

_~ Author's note – Who is it that put their blade to Urahara's neck? If it isn't a brand new characters the only people I can think of is Gin or Kano. Of course, I kind of bumped this one-shot up a bit further._


	12. 12: Snatched

**Title**: Snatched_**  
**_**Genre**: Crime_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Rangiku and unknown Stern Ritter  
**Summary**: Toshiro finds himself and Rangiku attacked, but the way the man treats him and Rangiku bothers him.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 08/02/12

**Snatched**

The situation the top two members of the tenth division found themselves in was tense. The small taicho stood between his fukutaicho and the Stern Ritter that they had come upon. His head turned back from telling Rangiku to send the message to the other captains and then the message that Ichigo was actually going to come through and rescue them came through.

Toshiro kept his blade at a lowered position and his eyes were watching the hooded man in front of them. Something didn't feel right to him as he stood there despite the fact there was the hope that the substitute shinigami was going to show up to rescue them. Perhaps it had something to do with Hyorinmaru not responding at all.

As he watched the Stern Ritter, Rangiku suddenly stepped in front of him from the side after finishing her message. Toshiro found himself blinking a couple of times. "Matsumoto?"

"You previously ordered me to find a way to break the seal on your Bankai, did you not Taicho?" the woman glanced back at him, her pale blue eyes reflecting a level of determination he rarely saw in her eyes, but the look caused the child taicho to swallow.

"My Bankai wasn't sealed Matsumoto, it was stolen." Toshiro Adam's apple bobbed down again.

The woman simply smiled at him. "I'm still going to get Hyorinmaru back for you."

"Matsumoto!" The small shinigami could feel something heavy suddenly weighing upon his chest. Something didn't feel right about the situation.

"Taicho..." Rangiku's tone remained steady. "Do you really think you're in a condition to fight when you're unable to communicate with your zampaktuo?"

"I..." Toshiro opened his mouth to say something in complaint, but the words refused to come out. His teal eyes turned to look at the ground. "I am not a child that needs to be protected Matsumoto."

"If it weren't for the fact I can't take my eye off our opponent taicho I would be giving you a very dirty look right about now." The woman continued speaking. "How do you think everyone will feel if something happens to you of all people? If I go down and Ichigo doesn't get here in time I want you to get away from here if possible. Don't even try and fight. They've already killed haphazardly before not caring who they killed."

"Matsumoto..." The small shinigami captain found his complaint interrupted by his fukutaicho.

"Taicho!" Rangiku then turned to look at him.

Her eyes suddenly went wide as the member of the Stern Ritter suddenly moved, launching a kick to knock her aside. "What happened to looking at where your opponent was and not getting distracted."

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro felt his teeth suddenly gritting. "Teme..." The small shinigami started into a tirade. "Don't you dare touch her!"

The man suddenly turned to look at the boy and the small shinigami felt a shiver run down his spine as the man directed his reiatsu at him. "I actually don't want to fight a child."

"If you had over heard the conversation between my fukutaicho and I you would have _heard_ me say I'm _not_ a child." Toshiro spat the words out, but found himself spitting out more as the man levied a blow at his stomach area, causing him to flinch.

"Seriously, stay out of this. I don't like harming a child and it is bad enough I'm having to knock you around a bit." The man stated, before turning his attention towards Rangiku.

The small taicho found himself stumbling backwards, his eyes wide at the pain that the man levied upon his stomach reason. By the time he looked up, Rangiku was between him and the Stern Ritter member. His voice came out in a mummer. "Matsumoto..."

"Taicho... let me protect you and try to get your Bankai back. If something were to happen to you..." The woman didn't finish and instead turned towards the man and held her zampaktuo out. "Roar! Haineko!"

The man's head titled to the side. "And how is this going to help you?"

The ash flowed forward with the movements of Rangiku's hands and a few cuts appeared in the man's clothing. However, he moved forward and Toshiro could see the man move forward and blood suddenly spray everywhere. "Matsumoto!"

"Shouldn't you be running like she told you too?" The man stated as he moved behind toshiro.

The small shinigami brought up his zampaktuo to block the man's blow, only to find it grabbed by the man. "You don't understand anything! She's not the one whose supposed to be giving the orders in the first place. Plus, I can't abandon my subordinate. She's..."

"She told you to run because she knew you would be foolish enough to try and get yourself killed, didn't she?" The man suddenly pushed Toshiro's blade away, before moving his hand to back hand the boy and to cause him to tumble backwards and let out a breath of fresh air.

Again, Rangiku was moving between him and the man and she received another blow that sent her flying to land on top of him. Her head was up against her chest and he could see the injuries. "Matsumoto! You shouldn't be moving!" The woman simply rolled off of him to try and fight again. However, this time she found herself having a problem lifting herself up. "Matsumoto! Please!"

"Ehh... looks like I'll have to kill her to get to you!"

"Teme..." Toshiro found himself pushing himself up again.

"There you go with that foul mouth of yours again. Children shouldn't speak like that."

"I'm not a child!" Toshiro hurried forward, only to find the man push his blade aside and launch another blow to the stomach, causing spittle and this time a little blood come out.

"Oh dear..." The man let out a deep sigh. "My goal was to make sure your didn't come away with any damage."

Toshiro dropped down to his knees and used a hand to wipe the spittle away from his mouth. "Did I just think you say that you're trying to not harm me?" The small shinigami suddenly moved between the man and Rangiku. "This means if I stand between you and Matsumoto and you won't be able to kill her? Or is it the fact you think you can just push me away without killing me because you see me as a child."

"While the fact you are a child is important, the truth is we need you in one piece when we head back to our home." The man stated.

"What?" Toshiro felt his throat suddenly tightening. "You mean..."

"We're hear to take Soul Societies children away. We want the children in one piece."

"Do you think I'll let you take me away like that? I'm a captain of the Gotei Thirteen?" Toshiro snapped out his words.

The man swung the small device around his finger. "We knew that kidnapping you would be the hardest. We also knew from our information that you have a temper on you and we could steal your Bankai and make it easier for us. Stealing the Bankai also makes it so we can buy ourselves time. Stealing the Bankai means we will be able to demoralize the adults so they won't come to take you guys back."

"Shut up!" Toshiro snapped the words out as his breath began to come in a ragged manner.

A sound came from behind him and his jaw dropped as Rangiku somehow managed to move between him and the man. "I'm not going to let you take taicho away."

The small captain felt his throat freezing. He tried opening his mouth again. He could feel something wet gathering around his eyes despite the fact this wasn't the time for that. Before he could say anything or do anything to stop her she had moved forward again. The man let out a deep sigh. "This is a pain in the neck really."

Toshiro felt himself spluttering as the man suddenly held up the device and Rangiku went crashing down as her legs were frozen. The man brought something down to try to take off Rangiku's head and Toshiro found himself surging forward, using his zampaktuo to block the blow. He could feel the anger welling and the hot tears starting to trickle down his face. "Don't you dare. I'll kill you! I'll absolutly kill you."

"You're a pain, aren't you?" The man launched a kick into Toshiro's stomach that sent the boy flying backwards, more spittle coming from his mouth. Before Toshiro could recover, the man stepped down on Hyorinmaru, snapping the blade. The man then moved to go and kill Rangiku again.

At that, Toshiro's hands released his blade and moved his hands and began the chant for Sajo Sabaku. He watched as the man suddenly turned and glared at him. Despite the fact the chills ran down his back he kept at it. However, the man was quick and he found himself slammed to the ground and straddled. "Why can't you be a good little boy?"

The man's hand was over the small shinigami's mouth. Panic filled his eyes. The man continued to speak. "Why don't you just come with me like a good little child?" The man removed his hand, only for Toshiro to remain silent. This caused the man to frown. "Really? I don't want to hurt you, but... if I have to I will."

The man reached down and put pressure on Toshiro's shoulder forcing it to dislocate. The small shinigami let out a scream of pain. It was then that Matsumoto let off a kido spell, only for the man to roll off and dodge. "You are really a pain woman. I should kill you right now but he keeps interfering. Why don't you tell him that if he just comes with me that I won't have to hurt him. I think you know neither one of you can beat me."

"I'm not giving up." Toshiro rolled over onto his stomach before having the man pounced on him. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Rangiku's hands suddenly frozen so she could no longer use kido. "Mat..."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself?" The man asked, pushing the boy's head down to the ground. "I have a deal for you if you're willing to listen. I can easily knock you unconscious right here, or I could break both of your legs. No matter what, I'm taking you with me alive and that person you think is going to come and save you isn't. There is a reason he was up against the person he was."

"There is nothing that you could offer. If you're going to break my legs just go ahead and do so." The boy grumbled.

"Oh really?" The man leaned forward. "What if I were to promise you that I wouldn't kill the woman?" The man watched as Toshiro flinched before the boy closed his small hand into a fist. "So... will you say uncle?"

The small shinigami's body flinched up and his breathing wasn't coming easy. The want to mentally break down right there weighed heavy on him. "Uncle..."

"So you promise to be a good boy and give up fighting me?"

Toshiro moved slightly before nodding his head in agreement. The man then backed up and allowed him up. He flinched when the man suddenly hugged him from behind. "We can leave now."

"There... is something I need to do." The small shinigami carefully removed his haori as to not bother his right arm. He then picked up his blade in his left and walked over to Rangiku, breaking the ice away.

"Taicho..." The woman spoke up as the ice was broken away from her hands.

"Don't." A tear fell down his cheek. He then draped his haori over her shoulders. "My last order to you Matsumoto as your captain is that you're not to follow me.

"I can't..." Rangiku shook her head despite being barely able to move.

"I'm not your captain anymore, so as my fukutaicho you have no obligation to go after me." Toshiro felt his voice sticking as he tried to hold back the pain he felt.

He then stepped up and backwards, only to find the man's arm wrap him into a hug again before covering his eyes with his other hand. There was a snapping sound as if they had crossed through some place. "Welcome to your new home."

A few more tears fell down his cheek.

_~ Author's note – If they're after the children then Toshiro is a prime target for kidnapping. That also said, Tite Kubo is unlikely to kill Toshiro off. While he does torture Toshiro he is one of those writers who happens to enjoy torturing his favorite characters. Also, the fans over in Japan threw a fit when the second movie came out because of the line "Execute Hitsugaya"._

Also, "The J" said they don't fear the Bankai, so why take it? Just as the unnamed Stern Ritter said in this one-shot, it means they can control things better.


	13. 13: Family Problems

**Title**: **_Family Problems_**

**Genre**: Family, Angst, Drama

**Characters**: Yamamoto and a possible character Tite Kubo may introduce in some manner. I've given this person a temporary name.

**Summary**: Yamamoto has to deal with some family problems

**Rating**: T

**Date Posted**: 08/15/12

**Family Problems**

Warm sunlight beat down upon the rock garden that Yamamoto carefully tended each day, making sure the place remained in order. Instead of stopping to enjoy the warmth it gave off he instead headed to another area of his estate where he chose to plan cherry trees in a manner that would create a cool area even in the worst heat. The trees hadn't been planted for him. As a wielder of a fire zampaktuo he preferred warmth to coolness. "Oji-sama."

"What brings you here today Sakura hime?" The man stated, a frown upon his face.

"I came for the coolness of your trees that happen to be my name sake." The female let out a soft laugh.

"On a day like this you don't venture this far. You dislike warm weather this much." Yamamoto continued with his stern demeanor.

The female then stood up, picking up her blade from the ground before dusting herself off. "I heard that the forty-six chambers has decided to eradicate the Quincy. Why?"

"Why?" Yamamoto remained as he was, taciturn. "Hime... if you have heard of this, then you should have heard that they believe we should completely destroy the Hollows rather then letting them cross over into soul society."

"I've heard that." Sakura frowned at her uncle. "But is that actually right? Doesn't killing them make us the same?"

"The decision has been made. I can not do anything about it but carry out my orders." Yamamoto spoke up.

"Carry out your orders? I would think you would have more standing and could do something?" The female pouted. "Father says the same thing to, he can not make a move. He refuses to."

"You'll understand when you're older." The old man sighed.

"You're always saying that. Everyone is saying that." Sakura's composure changed back. "But perhaps it is the old men who do not understand because they are so set in their ways and stubborn about who happens to be right? I don't think I am wrong in saying this isn't right."

"The subject is closed hime." the man stated firmly. The small female walked off without saying another word.

It was normal for Yamamoto not to see his niece for a few days between her visits. However, a few days later a message came to him. "Sir... Sakura-hime has gone missing. We believe the Quincy may have kidnapped her so they can escape across the border. We do though, however now have our location."

The man stood up and headed out the door, his mood dark.

**M**

The young leader of the Quincy found himself dishing up food when he sensed an icy presence watching him. Setting down the bowl, he stood up and hid his reiatsu, so he could get behind the person. The person honestly wasn't trying to hide herself and was simply watching. The clothing she wore was not that of a shinigami, but she was nicely dressed. She also had a blade at her side. "What my I ask are you doing?"

The small female turned towards him and he saw beautiful teal eyes that were big and innocent. "I'm simply watching and wondering."

"Are you a shinigami?" The man asked.

"No... I'm not a shinigami. My family would not allow that."

"Then why are you here. Surely you've heard that us Quincy are at war with the Shinigami."

"You used to both be on the same side. I don't understand why you are fighting." The woman stated, turning towards him in earnest.

"Because we choose to destroy Hollow that destroyed our family rather then sending them on." The man stated. "I don't blame them for wanting to kill us off as we'll upset the balance."

"But can't the two of you simply talk. Killing any life is wrong and killing you is just as wrong as killing the Hollows." The woman was starting to get on his nerves.

"Who are you to judge us for killing anyone or anything?" The man shook his head.

"I don't believe in killing or harming anything, that includes Hollows." The woman stated. "But I do understand the need to defend oneself and the ones you care about from harm."

"You've never seen battle?" His eyes suddenly drifted to the blade at her side. "Why then do you have a blade, a blade I see is a zampaktuo."

"Because it is expected of me. I didn't ask for the abilities I have, but I have them. Plus, my spirit is a very good friend of mine, which hardens my determination not to use my zampaktuo to kill unless I absolutely have to."

"You are a strange woman. Would you care for something to eat?" The man then brought her out to the others, much to their dislike. There was argument that she would bring trouble and they didn't know how right they would be until a few days later. One thing they knew was their leader had become infatuated with the female companion he had picked up.

**M**

Yamamoto went alone knowing full well his ability could kill any one and everyone but his niece. A soft, warm breeze blew about and he knew that this was weather his niece would honestly not enjoy. He let it be known he was coming and how angry he was. What he didn't expect was for the very young, very brash leader to suddenly be coming at him full force, forcing him to draw his zampaktuo. "Are you wanting to die that easily? Are you that foolish?"

"If it allows my companions to escape and live then I will gladly give my own life. I honestly don't care about fighting, all I care about is keeping my people alive and safe." The man stated, glaring right into Yamamoto's eyes. "I am not foolish, I know full well who you are and I know full well you can desiccate every single one of us with your powers. You rarely bring your abilities out because of how destructive they are. Go at me full force."

"Then I will." Yamamoto stated, bringing out his zampaktuo. "I would not have come if you had not taken a prisoner to use as a shield to allow you to escape."

"Prisoner?" The young man bristled. "You mean the girl? I had a feeling when she showed up she was important, but important enough for you to show up? Who exactly is she?"

"You kidnapped her not knowing who she is?" Yamamoto choose not to move. At that moment, ice began to attack the fiery flames, holding them somewhat at bay.

To the young leaders surprise, the small female stepped in front of him, her arms outstretched and an icy blade held in one hand. "He did not kill me. I came of my own free will and will go with them of my own free will."

"You will willingly commit treason?" The man asked, lacking any form of anger that he had directed at the man.

"I am not committing treason! All life is precious was what I was taught and that was the core principle I was told to live by, the way I was raised. If I were to go against that, then I would be committing treason." The woman stated.

The man suddenly sheathed his sword. "Are you willing to go with them, to the point you are willing to die by my own hands to defend this man?"

"Why do you think I came out here? I don't agree with the forty-six chambers decision. Since you and father refuse to do anything then it's my duty to do so." The look in her teal eyes was filled with determination.

"I will not pursue you and I will tell them the Quincy crossed the border before I could reach them. However, while I promise not to pursue this matter, there will be others who will. They will not be as strong, so your companion there should become stronger." With that, Yamamoto flash stepped away.

The young leader found his knees knocking, but simply turned to the female who sheathed her own blade, causing the ice that was left to crumble. "Who are you to that man?"

"He is my uncle. He'll keep his promise to me."

"That means you're..." The man paused for a few minutes, deciding whether to let his infatuation with the young female get the better of him or to simply turn her away.

"I am who I am. I don't wish to be defined by who my family is but my actions." The girl stated.

The man blinked a couple of times before walking over to her and lifting her up into his arms. She could have protested his actions but in fact did not. Of course, his group was not happy that she was coming with them. They would contend with his disposition and eventually after time had passed and the fear of someone faded. Eventually this woman would become their queen.

_Author's note – I wonder if people know where I am headed with this. Anyways, why did Yamamoto not go after this man? This would be because family was involved, family he could not personally harm, his one person he could not harm._


	14. 14: Yin and Yang

So the Vandenreich leaders name has been revealed to be Juha Bach.

**Title**: Yin and Yang_**  
**_**Genre**: Family_**  
**_**Characters**: Juha, Yamamoto's neice Sakura and two other characters that I'm calling Ode and Noir. Unlike Yamamoto's neice, Silbern and Schwarz are actual canon characters. Ode already _has_ a canon name while Noir's name hasn't been revealed. Hmmm... who are they?  
**Summary**: Juha and Yamamoto's niece have a family.  
**Rating**: K+  
**Date Posted**: 8/31/2012

**Yin and Yang**

Cold eyes glowered at the members of the Vandenreich council that stood in front of the majesty discussing the latest problem that was cropping up for the group that left Soul Society so many years ago. Finally the meeting was over and he found himself heading back to his quarters. The man's steps fell quietly and he saw his wife sitting in a chair.

A small boy with silver hair sat in her lap as she hummed softly to him as he sat very still. Another child of the same age stood next to her and the boy's voice had stopped when Juha came into the room. The boy then directed his smile at his father and hurried over with the smile on his face. "How was your day fuhrer?"

The man bent over from his great height and scooped the small boy into his arms. "My day was long and boring. How was your day Schwarz?"

"I did well in my lessons and then I played with the other children." The boy stated with a smile on his face.

"And how was Silbern's day?" The man stated looking over at the child with silver hair. A frown crossed his face as the child simply stared off into space without responding. "Silbern?" The man's voice became louder and the small child suddenly twisted around in his mother's lap and wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his face into her chest. The woman smiled softly. The man let out a deep sight. "So, what did Silbern do today?"

"Silbern didn't go to lessons and he only played with me a little bit after classes. He took off when the other children wanted to play with me." Schwarz frowned suddenly. "He doesn't like it when I play with the other children."

"I don't think that is it. Your brother is just shy." Sakura held the child gently in her arms. "Why don't you take Silbern to play?" The black haired child climbed down from his father's arms and grabbed the other boy's hand and dragged him away. "You wished to speak to me about something?"

"Something is wrong with that child." The man went and sat in a chair across from her. "He doesn't act like the children his age."

"It doesn't help that the other children find his hair and eye color to be strange. It is my fault as he gets his coloring from me." The woman frowned at him, placing her hands in her lap.

"I've told the children to not treat him like he is different." The man grumbled.

"That actually doesn't help either." Sakura sat there while Juha stared at her for a few minutes. "I know you dislike hearing me say that and I know you don't want to say anything against what I have to say. However, Silbern is a different child and it is rather obvious."

"The child is daft in the head, that is what he is. How come we were able to have a normal child and yet have one that is retarded in the mind." The man grumbled as he placed his chin into his hand. "The child is horribly daft and has been making his brother skip a few lessons."

"Silbern actually isn't daft. He's... while it is true that Silbern is different from the other children it isn't how you think."

"Please don't defend him. He doesn't speak to anyone." The man stated.

"That's because Schwarz knows him to well. They are twins after all and he speaks a lot for Silbern and what he wants."

"How is that a good thing? There are going to be times that the two aren't going to be around each other." The Vandereich leader leaned forward. "And then there is the fact he hasn't been going to lessons ever since he and Schwarz started a few weeks ago. He hasn't learned anything."

"I wouldn't say that." The woman let out a deep sigh. "Why don't you ask Schwarz where Silbern has been going during lesson time."

The man let out a deep sigh and stood up to walk outside to the courtyard where his two children were playing. Silbern had managed to get up somewhere high. Glancing around he noticed that there was no foothold for climbing. The man spoke in a loud voice. "Silbern, get down now!"

The boy clutched tightly onto the stone the protruded from the wall and shook his head at his father. Schwarz spoke up then. "Silbern doesn't want to come down. He likes going to high places."

The man let out a deep sigh and turned to the younger twin. "Schwarz... how did your brother get up there."

"He says it is something called Hirenkyaku." The boy frowned. "I've watched him do it, but I haven't figured out how he's done it. That isn't fair."

"Why isn't that fair. Neither one of you should have learned Hirenkyaku yet so don't lie to me." The man heard a sudden laugh and looked up at Silbern who had a rather amused look on his face.

"Silbern thinks it is funny that we know..." Schwarz frowned. "I don't get most of what he's saying, but there is something about how he shouldn't know the word yet."

"You mean neither one of you should know what Hirenkyaku means if you haven't yet learned about it in classes." The man let out a deep sigh. He saw that the darker haired twin was frowning still. "What is the matter?"

"It isn't fair." The boy folded his arms across his chest.

"What isn't fair?"

"Silbern is able to learn techniques simply by watching the older students." Schwarz let out a deep sigh. "He just has to watch it once and he's able to do whatever they've done. He also says he's gotten bored with the lessons because even the older students aren't learning anything new, they're just repeating the lessons over and over. So we don't stay for lessons."

The man turned his dark eyes to look at the silver haired child. "Aren't you an interesting child. We'll have to do something this behavior of yours."


	15. 15: E Stands for

**Title**: E Stands for..._**  
**_**Genre**: General_**  
**_**Characters**: Juha, Silbern and Schwarz... can you guess who the second two are?  
**Summary**: Silbern was the original E among the Stern Ritter  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 8/31/2012

**E Stands for...**

Schwarz found himself leaning against a stone pillar. Ever since he was a young child his twin brother happened to get special training from their father and the young man's training had proceeded very fast. There mother had also stepped in and taught Silbern some things herself. The dark haired twin found himself jealous of the fact Silbern was getting more attention but he also found himself jealous of the fact Silbern was becoming distant from him despite the fact he actually spoke now.

Awhile back his father had given Silbern a place among the Stern Ritter and Schwarz's curiosity was perked. He waited behind the pillar, waiting for them to come past so he could sneak into the meeting as his brother had been called today, something he wasn't always called forward despite the fact he was a member of the Ritter. He found himself heading into the room and peering around the puller to see what was going on.

Their father set on his throne, watching the other members enter while Silbern stood on the right hand side, that crazy grin upon his face. Schwarz found himself focusing on his twin. Others began to line up and finally a prisoner was brought forward. "So, you were planning on going back to Soul Society?"

"It isn't as if there is anything for us here. The only children who happen to be maintaining the same strength as our generation are your own, the others aren't anywhere near as strong and we all know why that is! They're half-breed filth." The man shouted out.

Schwarz found himself suddenly blinking in confusion as to what the man meant. Silbern suddenly spoke up. "Mutti isn't filth."

The dark haired twin found himself flinching upon hearing his brother bring up his mother. The man however stammered out some more words. "I wasn't meaning the ladyship... I mean..."

"You were referring to the fact Silbern is a psychotic and mental?" Juha leaned forward on his arm. "And what about my other son?"

"Schwarz and I are two different people." The other boy stated, the smile still on his face. "If they are weak then why don't I play with them?"

"You'll play with who I want you to play with. I've told you this game is only for this room and only when I say so," their father said, giving his silver haired child a dark look. The man then turned to the man in front of him. "I am going to ask what you were planning on doing to be allowed back into Soul Society? Give away our position? That is what would be needed to get back there."

"It isn't as if..." The man speaking paused, suddenly looking at Silbern with fear.

"Do you have anything to say?" Juha asked. "Well then, I ask the other Stirn Ritter to pass judgement on you."

Schwarz watched as the other Stirn Ritter gave thumbs down. Silbern suddenly manifested a rather large scythe in his hands. "This means I can play with him?"

The lord of the Vandenreich nodded his head and the man fell over, backing away. "Please. No. Stay away from me. You monster!"

The dark haired twin watched as the man backed away from his other half. Silbern smiled at the man. "I'm _The E._ That means I am the executioner." The blade of the scythe suddenly came down and split the man own the middle from top to bottom. The boy suddenly waved at the man. "Bye bye. It was nice playing with you. I hope we get to play again."

Schwarz suddenly swung around to the other side of the pillar as he tried to process what he had just seen. A hand clasped to his mouth as bile crept up his throat. He couldn't help but lean over to vomit. He could hear is father speak. "Someone clean up his trash."

Two small feet were suddenly in front of him. "Are you all right Schwarz? Do you want to play?" The boy glanced up and looked into the cold teal of his brother's eyes. The look he saw in the narrowed eyes was much different then he had seen before. He felt himself tremble suddenly. "I won't play like that. That hurts and I don't want to hurt you. You're family so I'm not allowed to play in that manner with you."

"Schwarz... are you there?" The Vandenreich leader called out to the boy. Reluctantly the boy stepped out to look at his father, a frown on his face. "I wouldn't have known you were there if it weren't for Silbern. You know I told you not to come to the meeting that Silbern comes to. I should have said it would be all right to come to a meeting he didn't if it would have satisfied your curiosity."

The man then turned his head to Silbern. "Why don't you go see your mother child."

The other boy raised his hand. "Bye bye brother. Don't tell mother. We're not supposed to talk to her about this."

Schwarz turned to speak to his father then. "Does mother know that you're having Silbern kill people."

"The term is execute Schwarz. Also, she does know. Hearing about it makes her ill... just like your face has turned green."

"Why are you making him do this!" The other boy snapped his words out.

"Silbern enjoys this kind of activity. It is just the way he is. You've always known he was different. Be glad you aren't like him and that you are a normal child."

"Does he understand what he is doing?"

"He knows full well what his job is."

The other boy clenched his fists together. "I don't like this."

"Can you come up with an argument about why its wrong. Executions are executions. It is what happens to traitors."


	16. 16: Ran for Your Life

**Title**: Ran for Your Life_**  
**_**Genre**: Friendship, Romance_**  
**_**Characters**: Silbern, Schwarz and another canon character that will reveal who one of the twins is. But who is the other twin?  
**Summary**: With the bloodlines weakening the Vandenriech leader makes the decision to bring in fresh blood and has his Stern Ritter kidnap a few young ones from Soul Society. Things begin to change.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 09/07/12

**Ran for Your Life**

The lady of the Vandenreich worked on a handicraft project. Her eyes didn't pay any mind to the silver haired youth pacing back and forth but the dark haired twin glanced up from the book he was studying from. Finally, Schwarz let out an exasperated sound. "Silbern... could you stop pacing."

"I wanted to go." The boy sat down in his chair, a pout on his face. "I'm Stern Ritter."

"I'm Stern Ritter too now and I'm not allowed to go either." Schwarz grumbled. "Of course, the only reason I'm a Stern Ritter is because there needs to be someone babysitting you at all times even when we go out to patrol the outskirts of our territory. You're way to temperamental."

"I want to play." Silbern stated with no whine in his voice.

"You're a psychopath." Schwarz muttered under his breath. "This is why you don't have any friends. Your idea of playing with people is all wrong."

"Fuhrer says it isn't." The silver haired youth pulled his legs up to his chest.

"Have you ever thought why you're not allowed to play _that_ game when your not told to play it?" The dark haired twin set his book down, irritation spreading across his face.

"You're mad at me for some reason, aren't you? Mutti is really good at patching people up so there isn't a problem with me playing with people roughly."

"You're a monster."

"You're not supposed to call me names."

"Schwarz, don't call your brother names. Silbern, don't play with other people roughly. I don't like it."

"Father says to sometimes though."

"Don't go against your father's orders. When he wants you to do... _that_... then don't disobey him. He is not a man that you want to get on the bad side of. I may not be able to reverse some of the damage done." Sakura continued working away at the task in front of her.

"Don't bother mutti. It always goes over his head." Schwarz stated, frowning at his brother. "You're going to get yourself..." The boy paused, shaking his head. "Never mind. As I've said, you don't get it. Thinking about it makes me sick though Silbern. I'll just say I don't like seeing you get hurt."

"Mutti makes me feel better though." The boy stretched his hands out the front, gripping onto his fingers.

A knock came at the door and the boys looked up. "The Vandreich leader wishes to see the young highness in the royal court. The Stern Ritter has returned."

Both boy's stood up and they walked over to the court. At least it started off that way. Silbern started to hurry and run and Schwarz hurried to keep up with him, managing to yank on the back of his brother's clothing before he ran head long into the court embarrassing the both of them. "You know the rules."

"Sorry..."

"I doubt you understand what the means. You don't have any emotions Silbern."

"I get mad at you."

Both boy's however quieted down as they went to stand on either side of of their father. A group of people were gathered of various ages and their father didn't seem happy at all. "I thought I told you to take the children and not worry about any adults. Actually, I forbade you to bring any adults. This places me in a bad situation as we have no use for full grown shinigami or nobles. We want the young ones."

Cold teal eyes glanced around the room, the obstinate grin on the young man's face. When his eyes alighted on a small female crying her eyes out. He found himself swallowing for some strange reason and slightly fidgeting. Schwarz glanced over and noticed his brother's characteristic smile had suddenly turned into a frown. He let out a deep sigh knowing full well his twin would do or say something stupid.

"Why is that wet stuff coming out of your eyes?" Silbern blurted out, startling the Vandenreich leader. The man then glanced in the direction the pale teal eyes were looking. "Are you hurt? How else does wet stuff come out of your eyes."

The Vandernreich leader narrowed his eyes to glare and his son. The boy's odd behavior and strange expression had caused a few of the younger children to begin to cry even louder. He then looked back at the female his son had been looking at and noted that it was a small female around the twins age with short, strawberry blonde hair. She was holding onto the woman next to her for dear life.

"Have you taken an interest in someone here?" The man asked while leaning forward onto his hands.

The silver haired youth raised his hand to point at the female. "I want to play with her."

There came a few strangled sounds from the other Stern Ritter. Even Schwarz looked at his brother in shock. The Vendernreich spoke up. "You can play with her." When the boy formed his weapon the man raised his hand up. "But not _that_ game. Take her to your mother to be cleaned up of that filth and then you can play with her."

The weapon disappeared and Silbern walked over to the female. "Will you come and play?"

The girl shook her head rapidly, fear evident in her pale colored eyes. Schwarz let out a deep sigh and glanced at his father, wondering if he would be allowed to step in. The Vandernreich leader nodded his head and the dark haired twin walked over and forced her away from the woman. The girl began to kick and scream as he pulled her away from the room. To his dismay she even bit down on his arm.

Silbern followed along with a smile on his face and his arms folded behind his back. "What do you want to play?"

"I don't want to play with you!" The girl stopped biting Schwarz arm long enough to spit out her words.

Screams were suddenly heard coming from the room and the silver haired youth suddenly frowned. "They're playing the game without us. Perhaps we should go back."

"Game! You monster! My mother was in there! She's one of the ones..." The girl stopped short before she simply went limp in Schwarz arms, bawling her head off sobbing for her mother.

Silbern frowned. "Your sad that your mother is hurt. Don't worry, mutti can fix her."

Schwarz was surprised to find the female lifted from his arms and suddenly thrown over his brother's shoulder. The dark haired twin shook his head. "Wait... Silbern."

"I'm taking her to mutti like I was told to." The boy then headed off at a fast speed, his brother hot on his heels trying to keep up. The silver haired child dropped the girl in front of his mother. "Mutti... make her mother better."

The woman glanced up from her work, frowning as she did. She then looked down at the girl who was crying in front of her. "Silbern, what have you done!"

"I brought her to you like..."

"No! What happened to her mother! What did you do to her mother?" The woman's eyes filled with panic.

"Nothin'... I was told to take her away and wasn't allowed to play in the game. You can make her mother better, right?" The boy smiled at his mother.

"No... I can't child." The woman closed her eyes. "While I can heal a good deal of injuries there are things I can't heal. One of them is... one of them is something called death."

"What is..."

"Death is where someone can never, _ever_ come back." Schwarz grumbled. "Why did you suddenly take an interest in someone outside of the family?"

"I..." Silbern frowned. "Then the people I played the game with aren't going to be able to play the game with me again."

"No. You're not going to be able to see them ever again. That is... you might say that is the point of the game." The woman leaned over and scooped the small female into a hug. "Now there... it isn't the end of the world."

Schwarz watched as his brother moved closer. "Do you want to be friends?"

"How can you ask a thing like that! You monster! I hate you! I hate you! I hate all of you!" The girl buried her face into the woman's arms, sobbing her heart out.

"Silbern... she doesn't want to see you just yet. I'm going to take her to my room to calm down. Why don't you... find something else to do." The woman stated, scooping the girl up and leaving the room.

Schwarz turned towards his brother, glaring at him. "You are an idiot."

His brother however reached up to brush a tear away. "I don't like this feeling. I don't like wet stuff coming out."

"Silbern..." Schwarz shook his head at his twin.

"They aren't going to be coming back to play with me. And she won't play with me either." The silver haired child tried forcing the tears back, but couldn't stop them. "I don't like this."

"You idiot! If father catches you crying... which is what wet stuff coming from your eyes is called... he'll..." Schwarz watched as his brother turned and went to sulk in a corner. "What do you think you're doing? Father will not be pleased at all with your behavior! So come on out of that corner. You aren't in trouble."

"It feels like it."

The dark haired twin flopped into a chair, letting out a deep sigh. Eventually, their father came back with a smile on his face. "So... how do Silbern and you like your new friend."

Schwarz glared over at the corner where his brother was. "Why don't you ask Silbern? He's been moping in the corner practically since we got back."

The man frowned and walked over. "Silbern?"

"I'm not playing that game anymore!" came the rather sudden announcement.

"Silbern... if you aren't playing the game you can't be E, and if you aren't E you aren't a member of the Stern Ritter anymore."

"I don't care! Playing the game makes her hate me!" The boy turned back to glower into the corner. "I want her to like me."

"You've never cared if someone outside of the family liked you before." Schwarz shook his head, confused as to why his twin was acting the way he was.

"This is different. I don't know why it is, but this is different. I want her to like me. And I don't like the feelings that cause wet stuff... crying as you put it. I want to be left alone." The boy folded his arms across his chest.

It was around this time that the woman came bustling into the room. "I finally got her asleep." She then turned towards her husband. "What do you think you're doing? Actually, I'm wishing you had been more upfront with him as to what those games you had him playing were."

"He knew full well what he was doing." The man glared over his shoulder at the silver haired twin.

"No he didn't." Schwarz slipped down into the chair, the situation having annoyed him long enough. "He thought mutti could bring every _single_ one of those people he played the game with back so he could play the game with them again."

"Silbern..." The man opened his mouth to say something, but then snapped it shut. "I'll be in my room resting. I have a major headache. That child is always giving me a headache."

_Author's note – I had this almost written a couple of days ago. However, I had to delete a good portion of the writing because it just didn't flow right._


	17. 17: Ran for Your Life II

**Title**: Ran for Your Life II_**  
**_**Genre**: Friendship, Romance_**  
**_**Characters**: Silbern, Schwarz and another canon character.  
**Summary**: This is how Silbern gets his canon name.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 09/12/12  
**Note: **In Japan it is not taboo to marry your cousin even if they are first cousins. This is forth level, and is the lowest level allowed. So, Sakura could have been Yamamoto's sister and the girl his daughter and there would have been no issue.

**Ran for Your Life II**

The small red headed girl pulled her knees to her chest as she found a quiet place that she felt the silver haired demon child would not be able to find her. She leaned forward and looked at her feet wishing she could go home, back to Soul Society where she felt she belonged. She was beginning to fall asleep when a familiar face popped in front of her, startling her.

"There you are." The voice spoke up, a smile on his face. His eyes were narrowed and she thought at first she would want to run from him, but for some reason the smile didn't creep her out. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Why?" The girl asked the question, frowning as she hadn't gotten used to his strange behavior even though it had been a couple of months. She didn't like how he became attached to her and stuck to her like glue. Having hidden from him, he had managed to find her whenever she tried hiding from him.

"My name is Silbern. Father says your name is Rangiku. That is a pretty name." The boy climbed into small storage room she had found and sat in front of her. 'Do you want to be friends?"

"Why don't you go and be friends with the others like you." The girl muttered into the hem of her kimono."

"There aren't others like me. Schwarz plays with me, but we are not alike despite being twins." The man stated.

"I mean, why don't you go and play with the other Vandenreich children. I'm a shinigami, not a Vandenreich." The girl glared at the boy, becoming rather amused when he suddenly frowned.

"They don't like me. They never have. That's why I only play with Schwarz. I want to be friends with you though." The boy continued to press the matter.

"Why? You think killing people is a game! That's..." The girl paused, closing her eyes.

"I'm not going to do it anymore even though father is mad at me." The boy suddenly turned to look at the wall, pulling his own legs up to his chest. "I didn't know they couldn't come back."

"But you hurt people. You enjoy hurting others. Nobody likes being hurt." The female frowned at him.

"I do." Silbern didn't notice the horrified look on his face. "When I get hurt I can feel emotions really easily. I'm more likely to express my feelings on my face or be able to describe them."

"Your not supposed to be able to describe feelings!" The girl shook her head in disbelief.

"Why not? A feeling is a physical thing, so one should be able to describe it." The retort caused the girl to bury her head in her arms in order to try and ignore the strange child. However, he continued to speak up. "What does a chrysanthemum look like?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your name. Fuhrer says your first name means _a chrysanthemum riot_. Mutti says that a chrysanthemum is a type of flower. The only flowers I've seen are the Sakura flowers that fuhrer brings home for mutti on her birthday. That's because mother's given name is the cherry blossom."

"Haven't you been outside of this palace though? Surely you've seen things like trees and grass and flowers."

"I've been to Hueco Mundo and I've seen dead trees. I've been outside, but everything is cold. The prettiest things here are mutti and you." The boy glanced at the ground. "Sometimes mutti will make ice sculptures for my and Schwarz and those are pretty too as are her things, but she says the real things are even prettier and she would rather we one day see those. She doesn't talk about it much."

"A chrysanthemum has many little petals and they come in many colors." The girl found her curiosity perked.

"Do they come in the color of your hair? Your hair is a pretty color." The boy continued to sit there.

"Yeah... that's my favorite kind."

"Maybe someday I'll bring you one then, if I can find one."

"What makes you think I'm going to stay here? I am quite sure that my grandfather will come and rescue me. He is a great and powerful man." The girl stated, watching as the silver haired youth glanced up, frowning as he did so.

"Onkel won't by coming." Silbern stated the fact firmly.

"What did you call my grandfather?"

"Uncle... your grandfather is my mother's uncle. He doesn't know where this place is. If he did, Soul Society would have been on our doorstep a long time ago." The boy picked up one of the items in the storage and began to play with it.

"You mean to say we're of the same family line?" The girl blinked a couple of times.

"Yes... we're second cousins. I want to be family like mutti and fuher are."

The red headed female found her cheeks suddenly flushing up. "You... do you understand what you're saying?"

The boy looked up at her, his eyes widening slightly, revealing pale teal eyes. "Do you have a fever?"

"No... I..." The small female found her cheeks flushing deeper as he suddenly scooted over and touched his forehead to hers, only to have her kick at him hard. "Pervert."

"I don't know what that word means." The young man blinked a couple of times, before sitting back up. "You don't have a fever though, so I don't have to worry about taking you to mutti. I think..." There was a moment of awkward silence and he spoke up again. "What is soul society like? Mutti rarely if ever talks about it. I think she misses the place."

"Then you'll understand that I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh... what would you like to play?"

"I don't want to play." The girl folded her arms across her chest. "Plus, I bet you don't know any games other then that one you used to play, and I don't want to play that."

"Schwarz and I play a game where one of us hides and the other looks. I'm usually the one hiding. He says I sometimes have a funny mood and he can't ever tell what I am going to do, despite the fact we're twins."

"What does you and your brother's names mean?" The girl asked, her curiosity perked again.

"His name means black, mine means silver." The boy began to play with another item.

"Can I call the two of you Kuro and Gin then? The names are less confusing and easier for me to remember."

"If you call me Gin, then can I call you Ran-chan?"

"Yeah... why don't we play that game you talked about. I'll see first."

"You don't trust me either?"

"No... well, yes. I don't trust you. That isn't why I thought you should hide though. Technically its my turn to find you as you've been finding me a lot."

"All right." Before Ran could say anything more, he was gone. However, finding him was another task. Eventually she found Schwarz. She fidgeted nervously, suddenly feeling as if she trusted the dark brother less, when a few days ago it would have been the opposite.

"What is it?" The male glared at her.

"Have you seen Silbern?"

"I _thought_ you hated my brother."

"We're... playing hide and seek and I'm it."

"Don't worry. He'll come out when he is good and ready to come out. He always does. I've never been able to find him for a long time now. He forgets we're playing and comes out, just like her forgets that I've insulted him for his intelligence level."

"You're mean!"

"Look..." the boy paused. "Wait a second! Shouldn't you be saying that he's the mean one! You may not have been here long, but you know he has a few sadistic tenancies. Mutti is the only person able to control him and even then it is creepy because she somehow manages to get him doing stuff girls are meant to do."

"He's your brother though! You of all people should know that he isn't normal and not treat him like he is a monster."

"In case you haven't noticed he _is _a monster." Schwarz suddenly felt her slap him across the cheek. His temper flared and he suddenly made the action to slap her. However, before he could do so Gin had moved into place and had grabbed his hand.

"Don't touch Ran-chan. Nobody is allowed to hurt her, not even me."

"Silbern..."

"I said don't touch her." The next thing Rangiku knew, both boy's were wrestling on the floor

"Gin! Stop it!" The silver haired youth suddenly stopped fighting and his brother got on top of him

The boy glanced up at her. "_What _did you call him?"

"I called him Gin just like he calls me Ran-chan. Do you have a problem with it?" Rangiku however reached down and grabbed Gin's hand and began to drag him away, not waiting for an answer.

_So, I've introduced a few more of my theories here. First off, Gin is the son of the Vandenreich leader and Yamamoto's neice and Rangiku is Yamamoto's grandaughter. Also, Gin has a twin brother who happens to be one of the Vandenreich members._


	18. 18: Bane of Family (507)

**Title**: Bane of Family (507)_**  
**_**Genre**: Family_**  
**_**Characters**: Yamamoto, the Vandenreich Leader and Sakura  
**Summary**: Yamamoto ended up not defeating the Vandenreich Leader ever so long ago. What was the reason for it? (This is based on the information released in the latest chapter.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 09/12/12

**Bane of Family (507)**

Yamamoto found himself glaring at the Vandenreich Leader. The young man also glared back at him, full of arrogance that came from not understanding how the real world worked. Despite his ignorace and arrogance Yamamoto knew that Juha Bach had a great deal of power and thus Bankai would be required. The man drew his blade and spoke his phrase, watching as the man watched him carefully.

It then became a contest of dodging his blade and trying to get an attack in. The blade pushed in and out rather quickly. However, as he came close to a killing blow, his blade stopped a few centimeters from someone's chest and it was not Juha Bach. "Sakura? Move! What are you even doing here?"

"This is wrong." The white haired female narrowed her eyes at her uncle.

"You know that if I had been a little closer I would have killed you."

"Let the Quicny go. Killing them just makes you no better then them. Also, if you want to kill Juha you'll have to kill me first."

"So be it." He watched as the man raised an eyebrow, almost as if he expected Yamamoto to kill his own niece. The man turned instead to leave. "If I ever catch you in Soul Society ever again, Juha Bach, I will personally kill you.


	19. 19: New Game

**Title**: New Game_**  
**_**Genre**: Friendship, Romance_**  
**_**Characters**: Gin, Schwarz, Rangiku and Juha  
**Summary**: Schwarz and Rangiku are playing a "game" and Gin wants to play it too. Since they aren't around he decides to play said game with his father.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 09/12/12

**Warning: **Bad words are used.

**New Game**

Gin watched his brother and Rangiku carefully. The two were glaring at each other as he looked back and forth. This indicated that they would likely soon start the new game they had come up with. The silver haired youth was curious as to how the game was played so he stayed out of it as he tried to figure it out. Schwarz was the first to speak up, as he glared at Rangiku.

The female was clinging to Gin's arm and he was letting her do it, not flinching at her touch. Not liking how close they were getting together he said one word. "Whore."

Rangiku's eyes flashed angrily. "Pervert!"

The words then went back and forward using only the one word until one of them simply decided to storm off. The other would complain about not winning. Gin walked into the library where his father was reading a book. "I want to play a game."

"Uh huh..." The man simply flipped the page in his book.

"Whore." The silver haired child smiled at his father.

Juha looked up, his eyes flashing with anger. "What did you call me? And why do you find this amusing?"

A frown spread across Gin's face. "You were supposed to say pervert."

"How about I say imbecilic." The man simply went back to reading his book.

"Whore." The silver haired child smiled again.

"Moron."

"You're not playing the game right!" Gin shook his head. "You were supposed to say imbecilic again. Not to mention that word is what the other kids call me."

"You think _this _is a game. Well... you did think _that_ was a game." The man continued to flip through the pages. "I am not sure I want to know what goes through that mind of yours when you make up a crude game like this."

"I didn't make up the game. Schwarz and Ran-chan did."

Juha suddenly clicked the book shut. "You mean you heard Schwarz and Ran-chan using those words on each other."

"Yeah. They stormed off so I couldn't play the game, so I came to play it with you."

The man suddenly stood to his full height and walked over to his son who and hit him on top of the head with the book. "Listen. That was not a game. They were calling each other names. Whore, imbecile, moron and pervert are all words with negative meanings. Moron and imbecile mean stupid, which you _were _being stupid a few minutes ago."

"What about the other words? Ran-chan called me a pervert once, but only once."

"Well, obviously they don't like each other."

"So those are words for someone you don't like?"

"No... those words are for a type of person. For example a liar makes lies about people."

"Then what does a whore and a pervert do?"

"Do you know what sex is Silbern?"

"No."

"Then I can't explain the words to you and I am not in the mood to explain it. If you'll excuse me, I am going to go and tan your brother and miss Rangiku's hide for teaching you those words." The man headed to the door. "You are such an imbecile."

When the man was gone, Gin frowned. "I guess he doesn't like me. He never calls Schwarz stupid or anything bad. I still don't get why Schwarz and Ran like each other, I like both of them."


	20. 20: Ran for Your Life III

So, its Juhabach, not Juha Bach.

**Title**: Ran for His Life_**  
**_**Genre**: Romance, Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Gin, Schwarz, Rangiku, Juhabach, Sakura and two other canon characters.  
**Summary**: Juha begins to discuss which of the twins will marry Rangiku. Gin makes the decision because of the discussions to take Rangiku back to soul society and return her to her family so she can be happy and smile again. Ran has other ideas though, but so does Schwarz.  
**Rating**: M  
**Date Posted**: 09/29/12

**Ran for His Life III**

Schwarz knew to worry when silence filled the ice palace. It meant his silver haired brother was up to something and causing trouble. He found himself suddenly looking for his twin despite the fact he knew Gin wouldn't be found unless Gin wanted to be found. He turned a corner and saw his brother sitting with _that _girl.

The two were sitting next to each other and she was clinging to his arm and leaning against him while Gin read to her from a book. One of her hands was reaching under Gin's shirt area to touch his chest area. Schwarz felt his eye twitch as he stormed over. "_What_ are the two of you doing?"

"We're just sitting." Gin glanced up, the smile on his face quickly fading. "What is your problem?"

"Do you even have an idea as to what she is having you do?"

"I'm reading to her, simple as that."

"No. I mean do you understand the other thing she is having you do? She's touching you in a manner she shouldn't be." Schwarz folded his arms across his chest.

"Why not?"

The dark haired twin suddenly found his mouth hanging lose. He then sputtered out his next words. "You two do know that you are _not_ a married couple, right?" Gin just looked at him before Schwarz spoke up again. "You don't have an idea _what_ I am talking about do you?"

"I know exactly what you're talking about. While Ran-chan and I _aren't _a married couple I do plan on marrying her."

The other twin flinched, noticing that Gin's words were a little different from usual. "Father hasn't approved this you know."

"I don't care if he does or not."

"Dinner is ready." Schwarz started to walk back towards the dining area and Gin and Ran followed. He allowed them to pass them and watched them chat with each other happily. His eyes bore into her back and he was glad to finally get to the table despite the fact he still had to sit with her. He began to eat when his father spoke up.

"I think it is time to decide who she will be marrying." Juhabach spoke.

There came the clinking of metal utensils as everyone looked at him. Finally, Gin spoke up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Either you Silbern or your brother Schwarz will be marrying your little friend there."

"I will." Gin stated firmly, glaring at his father.

"Excuse me?" Juhabach narrowed his own eyes at his son. "This decision is up to me."

"She and I don't get along." Schwarz glared at the female while Rangiku looked like a scared rabbit. "It would be better if Silbern if they marry. They're close enough as it is."

"Except Silbern has his problems which makes you the better candidate." The man leaned back in his chair and placed his hands in his lap with his fingers crossed.

Gin suddenly stood up, anger written all over his face. His food was knocked over and he glared right at his father. "No!"

"Excuse me?" The man looked at his silver haired son, his mouth twisting up in amusement. "What are you going to do if I say I won't let you marry her."

"I'll kill you." The boy suddenly let his reiatsu flare out while the two females looked on in horror. "Ran-chan isn't your property."

"Last time I checked she wasn't your property." Juhabach snapped the words out. "And I doubt you could take me out and you know you would only be trying."

"Do you want to test me? I belong to Ran-chan just as she belongs to me."

"You don't know what you're saying."

Gin's mouth twisted up in a smile. "No. You're the one who doesn't understand what I'm saying. I may have had problems in the past understanding a lot of the things going on. I understand a lot more then you think I do."

The silver haired twin then walked over to Rangiku and touched her on the shoulder. She stood up and followed him out of the room without either of them finishing their meal. At the door he turned and waved at the man. "Bye-bye."

"What are you trying to do fuhrer? Even if Silbern can't kill you he can kill me. Plus, I loath that girl. Actually, why do either one of us have to marry her?"

"To maintain your mother's bloodline and to keep her bloodline as pure as possible." Jahuhbach used a napkin on his mouth.

"Are you crazy? As much as I love mother the fact is her blood line is that of a shinigami! Despite being your son others _do_ look down on us because we're half breeds. You're telling us that we need to dilute our blood line even more?"

"We used to be a part of the shinigami. That's why I sent the group to kidnap children to marry into the bloodline to strengthen it. Of course, they brought back way to many adults and what can be done with the children we brought is limited."

"This doesn't change the fact I dislike her."

"If you were to marry her you would learn to love her, it is as simple as that." Juhabach narrowed his eyes at his son. "If I make my decision you are not to go against it."

"You _know_ I won't go against your decisions but you _should_ also know by now that my brother will." Schwarz stood up and left the room.

"You can't be serious about marrying Ran-chan to Schwarz rather then Silbern." Sakura frowned at her husband, her eyes reflecting a high level of worry.

"I know that Silbern is my eldest and that he is attached to the girl. I also know that Schwarz would make the better husband for her and they would have a more productive marriage. I doubt anything will come from any sort of marriage for Silbern."

"He's going to fight you and he's going to insist on proving you wrong. He may also do something stupid." The woman closed her eyes.

**M**

Gin paced back and forth. "I hate him. I really hate him."

Ran watched the silver haired youth as he paced back and forth. "I don't want to end up with your brother. I would die if I did."

This caused Gin to pause to look at her. "You aren't smiling. I like your smile."

"I can't smile if I'm unhappy." The female's eyes were distant.

"Do you miss your old home?"

"I've told you before that I do." Ran said.

"What if I were to get you back to Soul Society?" Gin looked at her as he frowned.

"If I could go home that would..." the female smiled, but then frowned. "Your father will _kill_ you and if he doesn't, then when my grandfather catches you he _will_ kill you. I mean, my old home is with him and he's as tough if not tougher then your father."

"I want to promise you something. I want to promise you that you'll always smile." The silver haired youth grinned at her.

Rangiku continued to frown at him. "But I don't... that isn't possible."

"Why not?" Gin suddenly frowned.

"Because good and bad things always happen to people. Memories just don't go away. That is the way human nature is and you can't change it. If you erase emotions then a person isn't human anymore."

"But I can stop that bad things from happening and only make good things happen."

**M**

Juhabach came upon Schwarz glaring at a piece of paper. The black haired twin had an aggravated look on his face. "What ever is the matter?"

The boy glanced up, his eyes suddenly going wide. The boy crumpled up the piece of paper. "Nothing is going on. Silbern is just playing a cruel practical joke."

The man held out his hand for the piece of paper and rather reluctantly it was handed over. The man looked at the paper and he felt his eyebrow suddenly twitch.

_I am taking Ran-chan back to soul society so that she can always smile. Don't come looking for me as you'll have to kill me to bring me back. Plus they'll very likely kill me. Once you're dead you can't come back, so this is good-bye._

The leader of the Vandendreich crumpled the paper himself and stormed out of the room. Schwarz followed on his heels but kept his distance. The man headed towards the Gate of the Sun only to find the gate damaged and the two guards unconscious. Juhabach's reiatsu suddenly flared out and the dark haired twin suddenly darted behind a column.

The man turned towards the younger twin. "How come you didn't know what your brother was up to? You've always known in the past?"

"Silbern hasn't spoken to me since _she_ came around." The boy found himself trembling. "Are you going to kill him once you get your hands on him?"

Instead of answering, the man stormed off. He came to where his wife was and found her looking at the wall vacantly. "He's gone and really done it this time, hasn't he? What has he done to make you this angry?"

Juhabach handed her the letter and upon reading it she clapped a mouth over her hand and a few tears fell from her eyes. She then looked at the man. "Please tell me this isn't true."

"Silbern is dead." The man sat down. Schwarz gave his father a confused look.

"You mean to tell me you killed our... my son?" A few more tears fell down Sakura's face. "If you have, you do know I'll never forgive you."

"I haven't killed him. I can't stop him though from going and getting himself killed off. Thus he is dead to us."

"You aren't sending anyone after him?" Schwarz's eyes suddenly widened in horror.

"It isn't as if anyone can go after him." The man plopped down into a sitting position and attempted to brush the subject off by waving his hand.

"But after the gate is fixed."

"Nobody can track him down and find where he went. Plus, by the time we were able to fix the gate he'll be killed by the shinigami."

"I'm going to go after him to at least see if he is dead or not."

"I forbid it."

"Do you think I'm going to listen?" Schwarz snapped the words out, his lips pushing together in frustration.

"You aren't your brother. Unlike him, you do listen. The subject is closed and I don't want to talk about it."

**M**

The silver haired youth found himself tugging Rangiku by her hand, while she glanced back in the direction they came from. "We should be able to arrive at the edge of the area the shinigami live in soon."

"No." This statement caused the young man to suddenly freeze.

"But Ran-chan will be happy if I take her home." Gin frowned at the female, his eyes narrowed so she couldn't see the emotion in his eyes.

"My home is with you Gin. Why don't we live in this area and make this our home? We can make our own family and live as husband and wife like we want to." Rangiku glanced at the ground. "That would make me happy. We just need to find a place we can call our own."

The silver haired young man glanced around, before tugging her in another direction. "We'll look for an empty place that we can fix up to be our own. You yourself said that nobody really owns the buildings in this area so if we find one that is starting to run down we can make it our own."

The two continued to walk for some ways before they came to a small wooden building that was run down. The two went in and glanced around at the place. Gin frowned. "This isn't as nice as what you had before though or what you could have if I took you back to your grandfather's place."

"But I wouldn't have you in either of those places." Rangiku spun around and kissed him on the cheek. A breeze blew through causing her to suddenly shiver and clutch her arms around her sides. "It's only the spring, yet it is so cold."

"Spring has just started, so winter hasn't defrosted and such." Gin glanced outside. "We don't have blankets or anything. It will be a few days before I can get anything."

"We can sleep with each other spreading our kimonos over each other, making it so that we have a double layer." Rangiku reached down and touched the floor. "There doesn't seem to be any gaps in the floor, so we won't have any air blowing in from underneath."

"But that means we'll see each other in the nude." Gin fidgeted a bit.

"We're husband and wife now so it is all right." Rangiku stated.

**M**

Juhabach expected Schwarz to listen to him, but the dark haired twin was determined to find his twin. His father was furious that he kept coming and going and he was told that the situation was pointless as Gin was already dead. On twentieth of December, several months after his brother disappeared, he felt Rangiku's spiritual pressure but not his brothers.

The dark haired to storm after her, angry that his brother was gone, only to find the shack instead of a nicely made noble home. Glancing inside, he saw the female lying on a futon with her stomach swollen. She was sound asleep but awoke when she entered. Her eyes suddenly went wide in horror. "Schwarz... what are you doing here?"

"I came to bring my brother back." The boy glared at her in irritation.

"Your father will kill him if you take him back!"

"The person he is going to kill is the person who took his son away." Schwarz stepped forward, watching as she suddenly swallowed. However, she suddenly felt a surge of pain and let out a yelp. "If your sick, it isn't going to stop me from taking you back."

A few tears rolled down Rangiku's face. "I'm not sick. The babies are coming and Gin isn't back. He went to find someone who could deliver babies."

The dark haired youth suddenly froze. "You're _carrying_ my brother's children?" Instead of getting a response of words, he was instead greeted with screams. He stepped forward, irritated with what was going on. Bending down he spoke into her ear. "The only reason I'm helping you is because you are carrying my brother's children. I'm going to be taking them and him back with me."

Schwarz of course didn't know what he was doing and found himself rather uncomfortable with the fact he had to look at the female's nether region. However, eventually a baby came out. The child had white hair and was a male. Not a sound came from the babe and the child's breath was missing. He bent down to see to the little one, only to have Rangiku grab his arm. "There is another one. I'm delivering twins."

Carefully he moved the one baby aside and soon another came out much easier. He was greeted with a solid scream as this baby came out, but was also greeted by the fact the dark haired twin was a female. He carefully cut the cord, only to suddenly feel a surge of reiatsu that was all to familiar to him. He found himself quickly moving to the outside of shack.

Gin glared at him, anger in his eyes. He suddenly pulled up a blade that his brother had never seen before. Schwarz narrowed his eyes. "What is that?"

"This is my zampaktuo. Mother told me about it when her brother died, that I had inherited his Earth Dragon zampaktuo. I've kept it a secret from father and even Rangiku for a long time." The breath came out of the silver haired twin's mouth. "I'm going to kill you Schwarz. I don't care if you are my brother, but I won't let you harm my family."

The next thing Schwarz knew, a blade was flying towards him, crashing into his mouth. Again he moved away and opened up the portal with the one infant in his arms. He found himself crashing onto the floor outside of the gate and the guards suddenly came hurrying towards him. "Someone get his majesty."

"But he's beside his wife and isn't leaving her bedside."

"We'll take him to his majesty." The men lifted him up while he clutched onto the baby which was screaming.

"What is young majesty doing with a baby? He couldn't have found his brother?"

"It is possible he did. I never wanted to run afoul of young master Silbern and I'm not surprised that he attacked his own brother."

Schwarz found himself suddenly brought into his mother's room, where she lay on the bed in a weak state. Juhabach reached out in order to try and prevent her from sitting up, but she shook her head. "I need to heal him."

"You'll kill yourself. You're too ill from worrying about both of them." Juhabach stated.

"I'm going to die anyways as my time is up and it is time for someone to inherit my ice dragon." The woman stood up and walked over to Schwarz, a weak smile on her face as the gaurds lowered him to the ground. She touched the babe before looking him straight in the eye. "She happens to be Silbern's little one. What of the other little one?"

Schwarz shook his head in confusion as to why she knew about the second baby, not to mention to also indicate it was dead. Her next words then surprised him. "It's that little one that will inherit my zampaktuo when I'm passed, so he isn't going to die. I'm just happy I get to make sure you don't die and that I got to see one of my grandchildren."

She then glanced up at Juhabach. "I'm gone, but you've gained two more to love in exchanged."

It was rather obvious the man was not happy about the situation at all.

**M**

Gin made to go after his brother, but found his step freezing when he heard Ran crying outloud. He hurried to the room before kneeling down next to her, his hand touching the cold body of the other baby. "He took her, and he's not breathing."

Tears were rolling down her face and the silver haired youth bent over and pushed air into the infants mouth in order to try and get the little one breathing. He also found himself instinctively pushing down on the baby's chest. He finally stopped when the little one moved and he scooped it into her arms. "Ran... I'm going to make sure you don't have to frown ever again."

"Don't go after him. I'll not just lose her, but also you." The tears flowed down her cheeks. "Plus, I told you that good and bad things always happen no matter what you try."

Gin simply remained in silence for a few minutes then spoke up not knowing that things in the future would happen that were out of his control. "I'm going to make sure only good stuff happens from now on, I promise."


	21. 21: Heat Wave (510)

**Title**: Heat Wave_**  
**_**Genre**: Family_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Schwarz, Rangiku, Bambietta, Jach Bach  
**Summary**: Toshiro's world is turned upside down when he is "Snatched" away from Rangiku's side.  
**Rating**: M  
**Date Posted**: 10/02/12

**Heat Wave**

The man that stood in front of the small taicho of the tenth division seemed familiar for some strange reason. A hood covered the man's head, but the boy could see a few strands of black hair peeking out from under neath the cloth. Something felt strange ever since the man appeared in front of him. Perhaps it had been the lack of fear that the man's aura caused him to feel that caused him to make the dumb move of releasing his Bankai as he absentmindedly threw caution to the wind.

A panic then set in when he could no longer hear Hyorinmaru speaking in the back of his head, guiding him as he moved along. The boy quickly regained his composure and told Rangiku what to do. When this was finished he glanced back at the man. "_I should be angry that someone stole Hyorimaru away from me, but for some reason I'm simply upset that he is gone and I can't for the life of me direct any form of anger at this man._"

Toshiro found himself side stepping and watching the man carefully and took note that the man was watching him carefully back. Despite the fact the entire Soul Society was in danger and he had lost his zampaktuo spirit he didn't feel that his life was in danger. "_This is not time to get cocky. I'm likely only thinking this because I have Matsumoto with me. I can't always rely on her to protect me._"

Narrowing his eyes suddenly, he thought carefully about the situation. "_He happens to be a Quicny so he'll specialize in long range style of fighting, so it will do me well to get in close to fight. He may very well have the ability to fight short range when necessary to limited capacity like Ishida, but I should still be able to cause some sort of damage._"

Toshiro then found himself moving in to try and land a blow. As soon as he came close though, he found the man moving to use hand to hand combat. Caught of guard, he felt the back hand of the man's fist suddenly hit him hard across the side of his face. He found his body twisting and suddenly hitting the ground in a roll as the wall he was thrown into broke. He pushed himself up, frustration spreading across his face.

"Taicho?" Rangiku's voice reached him. As he reached to pick up his blade again he heard the busty female moving to confront the enemy. As he stood up and looked back towards the man he found his eyes going wide as the man knocked Rangiku to the side. He could feel his lips curling up in disgust.

"_You don't treat women like that._"

The man however payed him no mind and Toshiro found himself moving forward in order to attack the man again. To his surprise he was backhanded again, likely because he let his temper get the best of him. He could feel his back bending and his body then hitting the ground. The man still hadn't revealed his face, yet something was feeling strange.

The man stepped towards Rangiku as she suddenly stood up. The position she was in allowed her to suddenly see the man's face and her eyes went wide and a bit of fear flickered across her face. The woman swallowed and she was suddenly hit backwards, the power causing her to travel far. The small taicho couldn't help but notice that the man was taking things father with her.

"You..." The man suddenly found himself attacked from the side only to have to elbow Toshiro in the stomach and away from him. "As I was saying, you recognize who I am so why don't you go ahead and tell the boy who I am."

"Boy?" Two bright teal eyes narrowed. "I am no child. If that is the reason you took to not going all out on me..."

"Stay out of this." The man turned to face him and Toshiro could feel the man's eyes boring into him. "This is between me and that whore."

"Whore?" The child taicho suddenly found his temper flaring and him suddenly moving forward. Using the flat of his blade he managed to push the man back and away from Rangiku. "Stop acting like you know Matsumoto."

"I said to stay out of this child." The man suddenly knocked Toshiro away again and he found himself stumbling across the rumble before falling to his knees. "My business is with your mother, not you."

"My mother?" The boy turned to face the man. "You're the one who seems to be confused here. On top of the fact Matsumoto Rangiku is _not _my biological mother I died and came to soul society, I wasn't born here. And you have the gall to pretend that you know her. If you're trying to confuse her, it isn't going to work."

The man suddenly glanced towards the small taicho, this time having to throw the fukutaicho of the tenth division back. Rangiku then spoke up, her tone dark. "Don't worry taicho. I've never met any Quincy other then Ishida-san. He's just using a ploy in order to get under out skin. You should know better then to let people ire you by name calling."

The man suddenly hit her into the building ruins, causing a greater amount of rubble to occur. Toshiro moved forward, some sort of feeling that the man was familiar to him bothering him. His sword when in one direction wielded with one hand while his hand went for the hood to pull it back. The man's hair was a dark black and his pale teal eyes narrowed to look at Toshiro.

The small child then found himself knocked back. It was then that he and Rangiku felt a sudden flare of spiritual pressure and they knew it was time to get serious. "_Particularly since Yamotto is likely to use his bankai and it is likely to counter what little I am still able to do with Hyorinmaru._"

He made the mistake of saying this out loud and the man suddenly pulled out his clawed weapon and took a stance, watching the boy carefully. He still didn't make many moves to out right attack either of them. But looking at the man's face he couldn't shake the familiar feeling the man presented to him. He released Hyorinmaru into shikai mode and began to use the ice attacks, surrounding the man.

Suddenly, the ice began to shatter and he spoke aloud that he wouldn't be able to use his zampaktuo much longer. The man then spoke up again. "Is that really something you should be telling me? You seem to have blurted that out rather fast."

The small taicho moved his mouth open. He could feel a sweat building up and he found himself opening his mouth but snapping it closed. "_Fuck, I almost told him I wasn't doing well in this sudden change of weather. I've got to hurry and get this over with, but hurrying is going to cause problems in itself. I need to hold out until Yamamotto Taicho is finished._"

The man moved forward, almost as if he knew the small taicho was at an advantage. Both the small taicho and Rangiku were thrown off as if they were flies. Finally, Toshiro felt his blade falling from his hand and he collapsed to the ground. To his surprise, someone caught him and he instinctively closed his eyes and began to relax.

As he did this, he took a deep breath and caught the sent of the person. His eyes snapped open upon realizing that the person was not Rangiku. The smell was male, but he was sure it wasn't anyone he knew and he felt himself lifted up onto the man's shoulder while his blade scrapped the ground as it too as picked up.

"Put my taicho down!" Rangiku's voice came to him.

It as then that a heavy rain suddenly came pouring down. The sweat was washed off his limp body and he could feel himself beginning to shiver. The man's body was muscled and shaped in a way that was yet again somehow familiar, but he couldn't place it. The person spoke up and was stepping backwards. "Well, that is my signal to leave. I've accomplished what I've set out to do."

There came a pulling sensation and Toshiro could hear Rangiku screaming his title, but the words became farther and farther. He then felt the man carrying him forward and he heard a door opening and his blade being placed down before they were moving again. He felt dizzy and ill, wondering what was going on and why he wasn't dead.

After a bit of time traveling along and looking down at a pale flooring of a building he heard running water. He felt the man bend over and felt himself lowered to the ground and he found himself glancing around the white colored room. A huge bath was in the middle and he watched as steam came up from the water. The bathing room was decorated with elegant counter-relief.

The man stopped down and took Toshiro's face in his hands as the breath of the small taicho came out in a frosted manner. "Let's get you cleaned up. You'll feel better after you've had nice bath. You also won't be trembling like you are."

This caused two bright teal eyes to glance down at the small hand owned by the same person and the small taicho found that indeed his body was shaking uncontrollably. He opened his mouth to say something but found he was to dry to say anything. His confusion about how he was being treated was growing.

The man was gone for quite a few minutes and when he stooped down again Toshiro felt nice cool water placed to his lips. His eyes suddenly widened and he began to gulp the cool treat down without even considering whether or not the water was poisoned. The man quickly pulled the water away. "Hey, slow yourself down. I'm doing this so you don't get sick, but if you drink it that fast you will be."

The small taicho let out a deep cough and he spoke again, his mind wandering to someone important. "Matsumoto..."

"You mean _that_ woman." The man narrowed his eyes and Toshiro found himself flinching. "Don't worry. Despite the fact I don't like her, I couldn't chance you being upset about her dying so she's very much alive. She's just not going to be a part of your life anymore."

The cup was placed back to his lips and Toshiro found himself suddenly balking and his hands reached up to push the cup away. "Hold it! I... you..."

The words were stopped as soon as he felt his head swim. He reached up and placed his right hand to touch his head. The man spoke to him. "Relax. You're going to be taken care of."

"_What the __hell__ is going on. If Hyorinmaru... if I still had Hyorinmaru he would help me make sense of this. They're supposed to be our enemies._" The man's hand suddenly reached up to pull on the top part of the uniform to remove it. The small taicho felt his breath come harshly and his hands reached up to touch the mans hands. "_What_ are you doing?"

"I'm getting you undressed so you can take a bath." The man suddenly gave him a look of confusion, the first major sign of emotion that the man had.

"_Don't_." Toshiro felt his cheeks flush up.

"What do you mean, don't?"

"I _can_ do it myself." His eyes darted to the side. The situation was becoming more and more akward.

"You aren't in a condition to do it by yourself."

Two teal eyes suddenly looked right at the man. "You _don't _know that."

"You _don't _know that you can." The man pushed Toshiro's hands away and began to tug off the clothing.

"You remind me of someone." The words came out of the boy's mouth without realizing them. Irritation was in his voice as he said this.

"You are really bad about blabbing out what you shouldn't." The man managed to get the one side off and began to work on the other. "So... who do I remind you of?"

Again, the words came out of his mouth. Why he choose the name he did he honestly didn't know. "Ichimaru Gin..."

"You mean Silbern." The man continued with what he was doing while Toshiro became even more confused.

The man reached down to untie the lower part and Toshiro's hands suddenly reached up. "Please..."

The man paused, this time looking Toshiro straight in the face. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The boy's eyes closed. "_It is best not to fight this as I don't have the physical strength. I also don't know what is going on or what he is planning on doing._"

The man finally finished undressing Toshiro and moved the boy to the tub edge and the small taicho felt his feet go into the warm water. The child taicho wrapped one arm around his chest while the other rested over his private area. "Are you comfortable with the water temperature?"

"Does it really matter?" The white haired boy's eyes suddenly went wide as he heard a door open and a set of small feet come forward.

"Oji-san, are you in here? You missed the end meeting, so ojii-san isn't happy with you" A female voice came to Toshiro's ears and he felt his cheeks flaring up with a great amount of heat. He didn't try to turn around and see who it was but instead pulled his arms tightly around the two areas, his knuckles and finger nails turning white.

"You mean oheim and opa." The man let out a sigh while placing a hand on top of of the white head of hair. A rough panicking sound came from Toshiro's lungs as he tried fighting off his panic.

A sudden squeal was heard from the female. The small feet were heard coming forward and the man was pushed slightly away from Toshiro. The small white haired male felt the female wrap her arms around him in a hug. He felt her chest pressed into his back and saw black hair coming down off his shoulders causing the sounds of panic to turn to a form of silent panic.

"You're here! We can take a bath together." The female's sudden statement caused Toshiro to suddenly choke.

"Bambietta!" The man snapped his words out.

Toshiro's eyes were wide from shock and he reached up weakly to remove her arms from around her neck. The girl continued to speak. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

Regaining his composure the small taicho spoke up in protest. "Hold on! This isn't at all decent."

"Why not?" The girl's mouth was close to his ear.

"Because _you're_ a girl, while _I'm_ a boy!" Toshiro's voice strained. "Let go already!"

"There is nothing wrong with us bathing together, all things considered."

"Bambietta!" The man snapped at the female, causing her to stop speaking while she turned her head to look at the man. "You're old enough to bathe on your own or with other females."

"I like bathing as a family though." The girl stated. "You and ojii have never said no before and we've always bathed as a family. You can't hog him to yourself you know. I want to bath with him too you know."

"_She said that __he_ _was going to bathe with me._" Something clicked in Toshiro's head and he began to struggle. "No! Wait! No, I always bath by myself."

"You don't bathe with other males?" The girl continued to hold on.

"I don't _undress_ in front of anybody. _Please._" He felt the surge of energy leaving as fast as it came.

"As if I was going to let you bathe on your own when you're not well." The man let out a deep sigh as he pushed the girl away.

"And whose fault is that oji-san?" The girl's words bubbled out. "You can't hog him. I won't let you."

"Get out Bambietta. Now isn't the time for this." The man stated, taking a break to lift her up and carry her out of the room. The door clicked and he came back while Toshiro trembled and wrapped his arms around his body as he tried to process further what was going on. "Don't worry, I have no plans of bathing with you. You need time to get used to your new life."

Toshiro felt himself lifted into the water and his pained body screamed with delight as the heat relaxed his overly tensed muscles. "I don't understand what you mean by..."

The door clicked open and he felt the man flinch. "Bambietta."

The girl didn't listen to the growl in the man's voice. There was the sound of cloth hitting the floor behind him. Toshiro made the mistake of turning around in time to notice that the female had removed the top half of her clothing. He didn't get a good chance to look at her face and instead turned back and covered his eyes with his hands as his cheeks flared up yet again.

"Bambietta, not now!" The man got up put the sound of running feet could be heard as the girl hurried over to the other side of the large bath. Toshiro could hear more cloth hitting the ground and then the water splashing as her body slid into the water.

"Can I please leave?" The words came out of Toshiro's mouth. He heard the water moving as the girl moved and he suddenly felt her breath on his face. He opened his fingers up to peak with one eye, only to slap it shut upon seeing something he didn't want to see again. He found himself sinking into the warm water and bubbles escaping from his mouth.

"I don't get why you don't want to be near me? I mean..."

"Bambietta..." The man let out a deep sigh. "You're getting into his personal space.

"_I wish he would just come and take a bath with us. That would solve a lot of problems, despite the fact I still would be far from being happy about this situation_"

The girl suddenly moved to where she was right next to Toshiro, her front area towards the edge of the large bath. "Why don't you come take a bath with us oji-san?"

"It's oheim." The man let out a deep sigh. "Please get out of the bath Bambietta."

"He wants you to join us."

Toshiro felt his hands suddenly fall away from his eyes in shock. "_How did she know?_"

"He wonders how I know too."

The small white haired male suddenly felt himself moving to the other side. The bath had a ledge to it for sitting on and thus it was easy to move away from her. He looked over at her, biting his lip as he did so. Her lower part was hidden by the warm water while her top was covered by her arms and the edge of the bath.

The man knelt down. "Bambietta, if I take a bath with the two of you, do you promise to give him some personal space?"

"Fine. Ojii-san is still in that boring meeting discussing what we're going to do now that we've gotten what we want."

"He didn't say he wanted me there?" The man let out a deep sigh. "He didn't perchance send you to fetch me."

"He's not happy with you but he figures you had your reason for not coming. I don't see what is so important about this."

"You wouldn't."

Toshiro closed his eyes, wishing he had his zampaktuo to talk to. Everything was to confusing. A clicking sound of a wooden tub was heard from behind him. He then heard someone enter the water. "_I just want to go home._"

"You are home." The small female spoke up. Opening his eyes he could see she was in the same spot, but her head was resting on the edge of the pool and she was looking at him. The color of her eyes were the same as his, something he had never seen before.

He suddenly felt the hand of an adult male push him forward. "Just relax little one."

Toshiro's eyes closed again. "This is just a bad dream."

"You said that out loud." The man stated firmly. "After I get you cleaned up you can go to sleep and rest as long as you want to."

"_I really don't understand what is going on..._"

The door clicked open. Bambietta suddenly bubbled again. "Ojii-san!"

"Hello your majesty."

Toshiro's eyes snapped open. He couldn't see the person yet, but his mind was putting _something_ together that he did not like. "_The only person they would call their majesty would be the leader of the... which also means we lost. And that also means that these two are related to him._"

A slight choking sound escaped his lips and the huge man came around the corner. The man's eyes turned to look right at him and he felt his entire body freezing. The man was huge and had an aura about him that he wasn't comfortable with. "What is he doing here Schwarz?"

The young taicho felt his body getting the better of him as well as the heat from the bath. His eyes rolled back into the back of his head. While he blacked out, he could still hear the things going on around him as he sunk under the water, not to mention feel the man next to him lift him up and carrying him away from the bath. He coughed out painfully warm water that had gotten in his lungs.

He was set down on the cold floor and he could feel his body being toweled off. He heard Bambietta getting out of the water and her wet footsteps coming over. For some reason she decided to sit down on his stomach. "Are you all right?"

Not stopping to think he opened his eyes and caught another view of her. Instead of saying what he wanted to say, he quickly covered his eyes with his arms. The panic attack he had been fighting to suppress suddenly came bubbling forward. "Get off of me! Get off of me!"

"I'm not doing anything wrong though."

"You _are_ a _girl_!" The words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"Bambietta, why don't you come and take a bath with me."

"But..." The girl moved to look back at the Vandenreich leader. For some reason she ended up moving away.

Toshiro's breath came roughly and he heard the man going around and doing something. The other, much bigger man spoke up. "He is a bigger headache then your brother was Schwarz."

"Give him a chance. He is his own person." Toshiro felt the dark haired man with the scar on his lip helping him up and dressing him. He then felt himself scooped into the man's arms and the left the room. Glancing up he could see that they were in a huge place. Every so often he would see an ice sculpture of some kind. The feeling of the ice felt familiar and welcoming for some reason. He also noticed he was dressed in clothing similar to the Vandenreich.

Eventually they came to a rather large room that was filled with quite a few items that a normal child his age or younger would like. The man walked over to the bed and set the boy down and carefully covered him with a blanket. "This is your room little one. It's part of your new home."

The small child glanced around and then shook his head. "This isn't my home. My home is back in Soul Society. You all expect me to just accept this. I'm not a Quincy, I'm a shinigami."

"Actually, you're a hybrid between the two." The man stated. "I guess I owe you an explanation of sorts as you're clueless as to what is going on."

"I've already figured out that you and that girl are related to the leader of the enemy group of Quincy." Toshiro glanced away. "You've also taken my best friend away."

"I'm not sure what you mean by best friend. You do realize that you're also related to that man."

"I told you that I wasn't born in Soul Society. I died on a plain of ice."

"Strange... I know what your inner world looks like so I know it happens to be a plain of ice." The man let out a deep sigh. "My brother's name... my twin brother to be exact... happens to be Silbern. He is the man you call Ichimaru Gin."

"But Ichimaru is a shinigami." Toshiro's eyes open wide.

"He's also a shinigami hybrid. Plus, the Quincy used to be a part of soul society a long time ago but we were chased away from our homes. Of course, that was before even I was born so I hold no grudge. Your mother..."

"Are you sure you have the right person?" The small shinigami tried sitting up, only to be caught as he nearly fell by the man.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You're trying to tell me that Ichimaru Gin is my father and Matsumoto Rangiku is my mother. I don't have any parents. I grew up on the Rukongai with my grandmother. What proof do you have?"

"You inherited the ice zampaktuo when your grandmother, Silbern and my mother passed away. The dragon zampaktuo pass down through the family line."

"That would mean we're also related to Yamamotto as he has..." Toshiro paused and closed his eyes and chocked out the words. "Had..." He let out a deep sigh. "I still don't believe you."

"I was there when you and Bambietta were born. The two of you share the same birthday, December twentieth."

The small taicho closed his eyes as he felt hot tears spilling down his cheeks. "She's my twin sister then?" He then took a deep breath. "You did all of this _just_ to get me _here_?"

"My brother was the eldest. As he has passed away that makes you the heir."

Toshiro bit his lip. He suddenly found himself yelling. "Why! Why is it that my life is always chosen for me? Not to mention you all had to go and kill people I know and care about instead of just asking me to come."

"The mission was two fold." The man glanced away. "I told you that we Quincy originally came from Soul Society. Our bloodlines are stronger when we have contact with Soul Society or have shinigami blood line added in. While you've been brought back home, others have been brought to marry into our younger generation."

"This is stupid!" Toshiro found himself flopping down onto the bed and clutching the sheets tightly. "You still killed innocent lives to get what you wanted. The wars were over a thousand years ago!"

"In the living world that would only be a hundred years. It really isn't that long ago." The man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can have whatever you want you know."

"No I can't." The small taicho continued. "I can't go home. I can't go to the place _I _know is home."

"You know what I meant, so don't twist your words around like your father always did. You can have a good, happy life here and not have to worry about anything."

"You separated me from my mother!"

"A woman who didn't tell you that she was your mother."

Toshiro suddenly sat up and found himself slapping the man in the face as hot tears poured down his cheeks from morning those that were dead and those who he wasn't sure about. "She didn't know. If she had, she would have told me. She really didn't recognize you!"

"How do you know she wasn't hiding something from you?" The man rubbed his cheeks.

"Because I know haha! I know when she is hiding something from me! I've know all her tricks for hiding sake. I know all her tricks of trying to get out of paper work. I know when she is mad at me for doing something I shouldn't. While we've always had a mother and son relationship I've _always_ been the one acting like the parent most of the time. She _believes_ she met Ichimaru in Soul Society!"

"How is that proof?"

"The only reason you're against her is because you think she took your brother away! Which tells me you don't really understand him because he was _always_ running away from everyone and refusing to get close to the people who wanted to get close to him. And how can you not sense that he is still alive? He has to be still alive! He's just still running from us like the moron he is!"

"I've touched on a sensitive subject then."

"Sensitive subject my ass! This entire thing is a sensitive subject and _nobody_ treated it with tact!" Toshiro flopped down on the bed. "Just go away."

"I'll be locking the door on my way out. I hope you understand why." The man got up and the door clicked. Toshiro felt himself tremble as he thought about everything that happened to him.


	22. 22: Death to Traitor (510)

**Title**: Death to Traitor_**  
**_**Genre**: Death_**  
**_**Characters**: Juhabach, Aizen  
**Summary**: Juhabach has a bone to pick with Aizen and it isn't about joining his army.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**:

**Death to Traitor**

What came from capturing the Hollows from Hueco Mundo came pieces of information. A man named Aizen defected from Soul Society. The man named Aizen took two other captains with him. Information said that both of the other captains were dead, while Aizen had been taken prisoner. One of the men had silver hair.

Juhabach's interested was perked when he heard that a man with silver hair had defected with Aizen. He new not many people had silver hair, so he asked more questions. The name Ichimaru Gin was not familiar to him though. It was his son Schwarz who told him that Silbern also used the name Gin before he left. The name had been given to him by that girl.

The man's feet walked through the maggots nest and the men trembled as they looked at the man. He cared not for anything but his particular goal, and that was the man named Aizen, for there was more information that he had been given. This information meant he was honor bound to act upon said information for the sake of justice and peace.

The man stood in front of him and Juhabach unsealed his mouth. Aizen's looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What do you want? For my to join your army? Sorry, but I only follow myself."

"That is a nice joke." Juhabach looked at him. "I am interested in some information."

"I'm not giving you any information. I know exactly who you are." The man watched the man carefully.

"I just want to confirm the fact you are the man who killed a silver haired demon."

"You me Gin." The man let out a laugh. "Do you really care about what happened to your son?"

"I want an answer."

"Yes. I killed him. I slashed him across the chest, ripped off his right arm and then impaled him with my blade."

"Then remaining in prison isn't a good enough punishment for you."

Aizen frowned at the man. "You do understand that I can not be killed. I have the Hogyoku."

"There is no such thing as immortality. There is an end to the cycle of a soul though, and your soul is going to end." Juhabach walked out of the room. Eventually an explosion came.

_Author's note – Yeah... he probably couldn't kill Aizen. However, he may have tried to kill Aizen without realizing he was immortal._


	23. 23: Death (511)

_I was expecting Yamamotto to die. I didn't expect the chapter he died to be as depressing as it is. Who knows if the Manga is heading in the direction I am thinking it is heading. I'm still going to work with it, maybe write an AU for the fun of it. To many ideas... sigh._

**Title**: Death_**  
**_**Genre**: Family, Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Rangiku, Schwarz  
**Summary**: Being forced to accept a new life isn't a nice thing.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**:

**Death**

There are some things that feel like they will last forever until they are taken away. The feeling that occurred when Yamamotto's life suddenly sparked out was colder then anything that Toshiro had ever felt before. On top of the fact yet another person he was close to had passed away, there was the feeling of dread and the feeling of being unsure about the future. Never before had he not known what would happen.

And then the army came through and he watched as the Vandenreich army surged forward. He found himself unable to open his mouth, his eyes were wide with shock and he expected to quickly be killed. The man was looking right at him and instead he found himself and Rangiku suddenly being surrounded. "Your orders sir?"

Toshiro could also sense Rangiku suddenly tensing up. "Taicho..."

"Why don't the two of you simply come with us back to our home?" The man spoke up.

"If you think I am simply going to surrender, then you've got another thing coming. I'm a member of the Gotei Thirteen, I fight to the death."

A few of the Vandenreich raised their weapons but the man raised his hand to stop them. "I wonder how she feels about you getting yourself killed? I just offered the two of you safe passage and life."

"It isn't as if..." Toshiro suddenly heard a blade drop, and he turned to look at Rangiku with wide eyes. The look he gave her was utter betrayal. "Matsumoto! We don't know if they will hold up on their end of their bargain!"

"Taicho... the idea of you dying. I can't live with that idea. You know we can't fight them." Her hand touched his elbow while her back touched his. She refused to look him in the eye.

The small taicho let out a deep sigh and held out his blade before dropping it. "It isn't as if I can hear Hyorinmaru anymore. Since he's your prisoner then I'm also your prisoner."

"That is a strange way of looking at it." The man nodded his head at the ones surrounding them. "Detain them and move them back to our home base. I had better not see a hair out of place on the boy."

Toshiro felt his arms grabbed and held behind him. He glanced up in confusion. "Wait... you were after me this whole time."

"Taicho..." Rangiku's voice had the same confusion to it.

"You are a very important person Hitsugaya Toshiro." The man stated.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut the hell up!" The boy suddenly bent down so that the tears from his anger wouldn't be seen.

The man and the army stepped forward and he found himself in a rather large thrown room. Glancing around without looking up, he saw ice everywhere. There was also a familiar aura to the ice and the corner of his mouth twisted up. A few of the soldiers proceeded to take away their weapons and his head remained down.

The man came over and patted Toshiro suddenly on the head. "You can already sense it, can't you?"

"Taicho... what is he talking about?" Rangiku blinked a couple of times.

"The ice Matsumoto..." The boy suddenly let himself hang. "The aura is faint and faded, but its Hyorinmaru. There is no mistaking my zampaktuo spirit's feeling."

He could feel the soldiers suddenly move in confusion. The woman though spoke carefully. "Taicho... you died and came to Soul Society. How can your zampaktuo have made this place?"

"What... you don't remember?" The man let out a deep sigh. "I brushed off the fact you don't recognize me to many years having passed. You and my brother Silbern were close."

There came a bit of summering as Toshiro stood up straight. He looked at the man in defiance. "Leave my fukutaicho alone."

"You're no longer members of the Gotei Thirteen, you don't need worry about titles." The man let out a laugh.

"If I am not to call her my fukutaicho, then what am I to call her?" The boy glared at the man, disgust coming to his voice.

"Why not mother?" The man stated.

"What the fuck are you talking about!" Toshiro suddenly pulled against his captors. "She told you, didn't she! I died and came to Soul Society! I don't have any parents!"

"You certainly have her temper, don't you? So far I'm not seeing any part of my brother in you except for your coloring." The man continued to speak.

"Your highness..." One of the men suddenly paused. "If he is... should we be treating him in this manner?"

"I don't know my nephew well enough to know how he'll react. He is Silbern's son after all, so he should I should hope he has his intelligence. Our notes say that you're a child genius and you managed to graduate from the academy in a year." The man waited for a response. "You aren't going to answer me?"

Toshiro instead found himself suddenly going limp. He yelled out a loud sob and his body began to tremble. The man stepped forward and touched the white head of hair. "Don't worry, you and your mother won't have to worry about anything now... you're both safe."

"Silbern... you're referring to the man I know as Gin?" Rangiku herself was blinking a couple of times.

"Yes... you're the one who gave him that name. How he came up with Ichimaru I do not know." The man continued to ruffle Toshiro's hair.

Two bright teal eyes suddenly looked up at the man to see him smiling softly at him. "How can you talk about us being safe when you're killing people we care about?"

The man's smile quickly left. "And yet these same people made you a captain of the Gotei Thirteen."

Toshiro stood up despite the fact his face was tear stained. "That shows how very little you know about me. If I hadn't entered the academy, my abilities would have killed my grandmother, the woman who raised me and I consider to be family. If I hadn't learned bankai and become a captain other bad things would have happened to the people around me. I became a shinigami out of necessity, not because someone forced me too."

"Father said that our information indicated that Yamamotto had grown soft, but I have an idea why. You're very similar to her of all people, and she was known to be his one weak spot back then."

"Shut up!" The small boy found himself leaning forward, his breath coming as he tried to hold back his emotions. "Just lock me up already in a prison cell. It isn't as if I'll listen to you."

"I'm keeping Hyorinmaru safe for you. Unlike the others I've got a connection to you and your zampaktuo, as she is the one you inherited it from. That said, I'll show you to your rooms." The man motioned for the two to be brought forward and they were brought to a specific room. The next thing they knew, they were being locked in.


	24. 24: Gift for Gin

**Title**: Gift for Gin_**  
**_**Genre**: Family, Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Gin, Schwarz, Toshiro  
**Summary**: Schwarz brings his brother home a gift.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**:

**Gift for Gin**

A fire crackled in the library of the Vandenreich leader. A silver haired man sat on a mat reading a book. His left hand held open the book to read and when he needed to turn the page he would use the same hand. He was dressed as a Vandenreich but wore at his side a shinigami blade. The door opened and he didn't bother to look up.

"Silbern... I brought you a gift." The voice of his twin brother came to him, but he choose to ignore the man. "Silbern... would you please respond."

"Buttering me up with gifts won't keep me from taking off again once I recover." The silver haired man turned a page again.

"As if you'll ever heal up from those injuries. Your arm was ripped off, not to mention your powers are sealed off by father once he dragged you back from that infernal dessert." Schwarz spoke up. "I wish you wouldn't ignore me and pretend I don't exist. I am your twin brother after all."

"You'll try getting me to listen to that man. I hate him you know."

"I don't have a problem with you ignoring him or myself as I have a problem with you ignoring your own daughter." The man stated. "Plus, I have something for you. Will you come to your room long enough to see what it is?"

Gin let out a sigh and placed a bookmark into his book, before standing up to follow his twin. "Really. You and that man seem to think giving me anything and everything I may want will make an agreeable family member who will be a trophy for him. That's how he always thought of me."

"Now that isn't true."

"Fine. He's always thought of me as a child, a child who lacks intelligence and has major mental problems." The silver haired man placed one hand behind his head.

"That is because you're different and honestly a hard person to understand."

"Don't talk to me as if I am someone who happens to not have matured since you've last seen me. My words about killing you still hold true." Gin spiked his aura. "I don't like my family being put into danger."

Schwarz flinched slightly, before opening the door to his brother's room. "Then you'll probably want to kill me."

The silver haired man's mouth twisted up into a frown and he pushed into the room. His mouth then formed a circle shape and he walked over to the silver haired child lying on the bed. "Chibi... what..."

Gin sat down so that his left side was towards the boy, before turning to glare at his brother. "This has something to do with father trying to control me, doesn't it?"

"Of course it does. I wouldn't have put another one of your children in danger." The man leaned against the doorway. "I personally think you are way to protective, and yet you want nothing to do with your daughter."

The silver haired twin let out an irritated sound before reaching down to brush a strand of hair away from the child's face. "He's grown since I last saw him."

It was then that two bright teal eyes opened up half-way. They looked up at Gin for a few seconds, not registering what was going on. Suddenly though, the boy was sitting up and backing against the back wall that the bed was up against. The child reached down and clutched his ribs. One eye at first glanced down while the other closed because of the pain, before looking up to look at the two men.

"Ichimaru Gin?"

"He calls you that Silbern?" The man in the doorway shut up.

"Silbern?" Toshiro felt the one eye he had open twitch.

"Shut up Schwarz. Don't confuse him anymore then he needs to be." Gin turned to look at his brother, frowning as he did so.

"You... you're one of _them_. I knew you were a traitor to soul society, but this really takes the cake!" Toshiro glared at the two men, his eyes traveling towards the man at the door.

"I'm not one of them Shiro-chan. He's just... a child hood acquaintance." The man choose his words carefully.

"Excuse me?"Schwarz felt his mouth twisting up into a scowl at how his brother dismissed him that easily.

"Ichimaru..." The boy blinked a couple of times. "You paused in your explanation, so that means he's..."

Gin watched as the child's face. "What are you thinking Chibi?"

"He's... you..." Toshiro pointed with his finger at the man. "_He paused when he told me they were child hood acquaintances. He's acting like he's closer to Gin then Ran-chan is, and their relationship had a lot of sexual vibes, so these two were in a romantic relationship?_"

"Are you letting your imagination run wild?" The silver haired man shook his head.

"The reason... me... because..." The small white haired child felt the color suddenly leave his cheeks. "Pe... pe... pe..."

Gin clapped a hand over Toshiro's mouth. "Oh boy. Look, Shiro-chan... Hyorinmaru should be telling you right around now that you're thinking to much into things, so..."

"_I forgot. Hyorinmaru was taken by that guy. He doesn't just want to rape me by my zampaktuo too?_" Toshiro's mouth opened and the corner began to twitch.

Two pale eyes looked at the child in confusion. "Well, aren't you going to speak to your zampaktuo?"

Gin carefully removed his hand and watched the boy carefully. Toshiro's mouth opened and closed as he placed his hands over his ears. "Ca... can't..."

The silver haired man turned and looked his brother right in the eye. "Why is it he can't speak to his zampaktuo?"

"Because I used a device to steal his Bankai. It isn't that big of a deal Silbern." The man continued to lean against the doorframe.

Gin's mouth twisted up and he quickly stood up and walked over to the man, slapping him across the cheek. He then walked over to a chest of drawers and looked over at the small taicho who was shaking, his eyes beginning to water up as he stared into space. "Not that big of a deal? I know the kid far better then you do and I know it is a big deal."

He pulled out a short blade and the man raised an eyebrow. "So, you're actually going to try and kill me?"

The man choose to ignore his brother and instead headed toward the child who was shaking as he leaned against the wall where he sat. The boy glanced at the blade that Gin held out to him and a look of fear passed his eyes. However, the man pushed the blade at the boy's chest and with a shaky hand Toshiro reached up and grabbed the blade.

Gin moved to secure Toshiro's hand tighter around the zampaktuo before reacing up to ruffle is hair. "Since you can't talk to Hyorinmaru, you can talk to Shinso for now."

He then patted the bed and the white haired child flopped down while he watched the men carefully. Schwarz spoke up, glaring at his brother. "Why is it you pay more attention to your son then your own daughter?"

The silver haired man suddenly felt himself freezing, turning to look his brother right in the eye. "I wish you would just shut up."

"Apparently I've done someone wrong, but you're not willing to tell me what I've done wrong." The man looked right at Toshiro who was watching him carefully. "Your father..."

"Shut up!" Gin snapped the words out. He wasn't looking at the white haired child who was suddenly sitting up. He reached over and tugged on the back of the former third division taicho's clothing. Letting out a deep sigh, he turned to look at the boy. "What is it?"

"Is it possible that two guys can have a child together?"

The dark haired of the male set of twins suddenly found his mouth twitching. "What the... where would he get that idea from? He's as messed up in the head as you are. I mean, how could anyone logically come to that conclusion. And isn't he old enough to know that it takes a male and female to have a child."

"So then that is the reason you were with Matsumoto, to trick her?" Toshiro pulled away into a corner and buried his face.

"Shiro-chan... you have an interesting imagination." Gin sighed.

"I wouldn't call this an interesting imagination Silbern," the man shook his head. "I'm actually confused as to how he came to this conclusion."

"Isn't your and Ichimaru's relationship..." Toshiro found hims cheeks turning red as he couldn't say the words.

"We're..."

Gin quickly interrupted his brother, amused with where this was going. "He thought we were in a romantic relationship. He also thought the reason you kidnapped him was because you were a pedofile and your interest in me was gone."

A string of curses suddenly came out of Schwarz's mouth. He found himself storming over to grab a handful of silver hair. "You _really _think this is funny? That shows exactly how messed up you are! None of that is accurate and you could have told him that we are..."

"It was amusing to see him dislike you. Plus, I'm not happy with you for telling him something I've kept a secret from him his entire life." Gin smiled at his brother.

"Which is why you're not telling him the truth? You're enjoying me squirm despite the fact I'm..."

"You _aren't _family any more! You came and took one of Ran-chan's little ones away before she was even able to hold her!" Gin stood up and placed his face into the other man's face. "What you did to her was so painful she made a wish on _that_ thing to forget the bad memories and forgot completely about our past."

"I would have take you and both of them back if you hadn't gone berserk on me and tried to kill me!"

"And you would have planned on leaving her behind? I mean..." Gin stopped as he felt a sudden tug on the back of his clothing again. He turned and looked down at a white head of hair. "Shiro-chan?"

"I have a sister?"

"That he's turned a blind eye too."

"She doesn't need me... particularly since she has you."

"That's the reason you ignore her? You're something aren't you."

"You're under the assumption he's ever payed attention to me." Toshiro stated, glancing at the ground again. "Can I go to sleep. My head's spinning."

"Yeah." Gin stood up and grabbed his brother's clothing and dragged him out of the room.


	25. 25: Death (511)

**Title**: Death_**  
**_**Genre**: Hurt/Comfort_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro and Rangiku  
**Summary**: Toshiro and Rangiku talk after being dragged into the room.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 10/11/12

**Death**

Toshiro sat on the bed, his knees folded up to his chest. He stared at the floor while Rangiku paced back and forth. "_Yamamoto is dead. How many other people are going to die?_"

"Taicho..." The woman paused and spoke up again. The small taicho said nothing and simply sat there, the sadness causing his mind to go numb. After a few minutes she spoke up again. "Taicho... I'm sorry."

The boy glanced up, looking at her with wide, bright teal eyes. "About forcing me to surrender? You didn't want me to die, so you did what you had to do."

Rangiku looked him straight in the eye, frowning as she did so. "Taicho... I'm not sorry about making sure you are still alive. I'm sorry I can't for the life of me remember when you were little."

"That's what you were thinking about?" Toshiro frowned back at her. "That isn't the only thing you're worried about."

"You're as upset as I am that the head taicho has passed away, right?" The busty female's arms crossed her chest.

"Are you worried about me not being able to show my emotions? It kind of needs to sink in."

"I... that isn't what I meant. I mean..." Rangiku let out a deep sigh. "I want to do something to make that pain go away, or at least be less then it is. But I don't feel that I deserve such a role. I mean..."

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "That's funny. Even without knowing I was your child you have always acted like my mother."

"Somehow, I had a feeling when I met you."

"It's not your fault you can't remember." The boy patted the bed for her to sit down. The woman came and sat down, watching as he glanced back at the ground. "So, he really is dead?"

"Probably. He's not... he's not someone who can easily be taken out."

"Which means everyone else is going to die. I'm never going to be seeing them again." Toshiro glanced at his feet. "How come I don't want to believe that is true?"

"Because when you have to admit that someone is dead and gone, that is when the tears come. You can tell people your feelings all you want, but the pain doesn't go away until you let the emotions out." Rangiku suddenly reached up and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

Toshiro suddenly glanced up, something else clicking in his head. "Ichimaru... he isn't coming back, is he?"

The woman let out a deep sigh. "He... I don't feel like he is still alive."

Something wet crept down the boy's cheek. "Why? Why am I crying? I don't even know him or like him. And yet I'm not crying for someone else I know who I knew far better and liked far better."

"Because you still don't want to believe he's dead." Rangiku wrapped her arms around him tighter, pulling the child close. The tears then came hard. "And despite the fact you never got close to Gin, finding out you could have gotten close to him. You hurt because you missed out on something important by him dying."


	26. 26: Lost One

**Title**: Lost One_**  
**_**Genre**: Action_**  
**_**Characters**: Those in the world of the Hollows  
**Summary**: Urahara has a blade to his throat, so what has been going on while all the problems in Soul Society has been going on?  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**: 10/12/2012

**Lost One**

The desert was disturbed and a familiar feeling was calling to him. Footsteps fell on the sand as the person headed towards the disturbance. One swing and the person was cut in half. Everything was so familiar yet also so far away. The blade then pressed against the man with the pin striped hat's throat. "What the hell is going on? Why did you have to drag _that _thing here?"

"Ahh... you're referring to the Vandenreich member?" The corner of the man's mouth suddenly twitched. "Well, there is the fact I don't mind seeing you again, Gin-kun. I didn't get the chance to note that I've noticed you've grown so much since I last saw you."

"Again, _what_ is that thing doing there?" Gin snapped his words out. "I thought I would _never _see on of them again."

Urahara's eyes opened up. "First, it seems you rather dislike them. Second, I am surprised that you have knowledge of them when so few do. Putting that aside, they have decided to attack Soul Society. They have an ability to seal up the Bankai ability. So far Byakuya, Hitsugya, Komamura and Soifon have all had their Bankai stolen."

"So you're telling me Chibi Taicho is in danger?" The man snapped the words out.

"Yeah..." Urahara glanced over at the gate. "Kurosaki is imprisoned by something the Vandenreich you just killed did. Anyways... everyone is looking for him to rescue them, but we are in a bit of delima as we don't know how to undo his powers. And even if we did there is a limit to who he can save by himself. Even with another helping there would be limited."

"I get the point. You are under the assumption... and correct one at that, that I can possibly undo the jail cell. However... you are under the impression I have something to go and rescue, a reason to go back and risk being arrested for treason and thus executed."

Gin however removed his blade and headed towards the gate. Orihime blinked a couple of times. "Wait..."

"What... I don't have time for you kids." The man turned to frown at the others.

"You're a kid yourself still." A sigh came from Urahara as he himself stood up.

"You're missing your arm. Isn't that a handicap?"

"What of it?"

"I can restore it... it shouldn't take that long either." Orihime blurted out.

Gin glanced down at his missing right arm. "Just make it quick. I've never been one to be patient."

After a few minutes Gin found himself heading through the gate with two arms rather then one. He then came across Ichigo's cage. Carefully, he touched it and messed with the composition, causing it to shatter. The substitute shinigami fell forward. The words out of his mouth held a bit of confusion. "You..."

"Do you want to save your friends in Soul Society or not?"


	27. 27: Perfect Blood Line (513)

Author's note – Just to give the readers a heads up, user number [4321929] is a spam flamer that you'll want to block as their reviews are not appropriate for the younger members of the site. Also... I think we have more evidence towards Ichigo being part Quincy as of chapter 513. I was going to write a fanfic where Toshiro freaks out about Yamamotto's death, but Toshiro's handled things quite well the last few chapters. So while I agree with the one reviews assesment, it depends on how much character development off stage Toshiro happens to have had.

**Title**: Perfect Blood Line_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Juhabach, Toshiro and mentioning of other canon characters.  
**Summary**: Upon finding out that Kurosaki Ichigo's bloodline is part Shinigami, part Quincy, he decides that he's found the perfect match for his young grandson.  
**Rating**: T  
**Date Posted**:

**Perfect Blood Line**

There was one thing that Juhabach didn't expect of the substitute shinigami. None of the shinigami were able to learn Quincy abilities due to the fact it was a lost art form. Kurosaki Ichigo on the other hand managed to learn what amounted to a lost technique for the Shinigami and was able to use it without even realizing he was in fact using it. The boy's skill for using such abilities was amusing, but it was different from Silbern when he learned as this was pure instinct while Silbern learned on pure intellect.

The amusement didn't last long as the boy ended up causing the man to delay leaving Soul Society despite the fact he had planned on having the Zero Squad gather while they were gone. Thus he found himself making moves in order to make a distance from Ichigo while his minions manevered to the gates, taking their own hostages with them. Reprogramming would be an easy task for young ones, but Ichigo simply was to much of a pain to train, he was that much of a wild animal.

Finally though he opened the door and retreated with Haschwald to their place, taking the young ones with them. Ichigo lunged forward to try and attack him again, the anger in his eyes flashing with desperation. However, the timing was just right and the fact Ichigo didn't pay attention to his surroundings was a positive thing for him. He then walked forward through the gate and his eyes narrowed at the white haired boy that was struggling in Schwarz's arms.

Schwarz carried him with his right arm wrapped around the small waist. He had expected the boy to have similar coloring to his father Silbern, but instead the child instead looked like a miniature male version of his dead wife. He found himself taking a deep breath before they headed towards the throne room. The other dragged the children they had brought with them while Bambietta looked at her brother with an amused look on her face.

The man sat down on his throne and suddenly watched as the white haired child looked up, his eyes flashing with anger. Schwarz let the boy onto his feet and he watched as the boy suddenly tried to lunge at him, only to be grabbed by the back of his neck by his dark haired uncle. The boy's mouth opened before snapping shut. The man spoke up. "I like the fact that you have spunk child."

He was surprised to see the boy's eyes go wide before suddenly narrowing at him. "I am _not _a child."

The comment surprised him, not to mention he found himself looking at the boy in amusement. His actions reminded him of Silbern. "Yes... you are."

Toshiro glared at him, while on of the Vandenriech spoke up. "He tried killing you, your majesty."

Juhabach watched as Haschwald suddenly paled at the other Stern Ritter's comments. He held out his hand, knowing full well that Haschwald had a good idea of whose child that was, having been one of the few people to have known and seen his son, let alone remember him. The man let out a ticking sound of amusement. "As I said, he is just a child. Plus, if you kill this one, I will be forced to kill you."

The child's bright teal eyes suddenly narrowed at the man. "What do you mean by that? You're talking about me as if you're going to be using me as a weapon or something like that."

"While it is true that you children are going to be trained as Quincy and to learn Quincy abilities, I don't plan on using you as weapons. I plan on keeping all of you here, nice and safe. Of course, whether you choose to join my side and fight along side of me is ultimately up to you. I wouldn't have a problem with you being loyal to me."

"Then you're lying about planning on using us as weapons. You plan on using us that way all along." Toshiro spoke up.

"What you say is completely illogical as I just told you that I was not planning on using you as weapons." The man narrowed his eyes, finding the boy to be just as annoying as Silbern.

"Actually, you did. You said you were planning on training us as Quincy and there is no reason to train us as Quincy unless you plan on using us as weapons." Toshiro turned to look the man straight in the eye, his bright teal eyes completely defiant.

"What if I were to tell you there was a logical reason to train you as Quincy that wasn't about making you weapons?" The man raised an eyebrow as he was surprised that the boy had shared his logic, something Silbern would never have done.

"Try me."

"We are training you as Quincy so you can be a part of our society. We plan on marring you children with our children so that our bloodlines will remain strong. Perhaps the next generation will be even stronger." The man watched as the boy raised his own eyebrow. "You seemed confused Hitsugaya."

"The Quincy and Shinigami are enemies with two very different sets of ideals. I would think that a hybrid would be persecuted here or in soul society. Not to mention I don't think they exist, so you have no proof that the bloodlines will remain strong or be stronger the next generation." Toshiro continued to glare at the man.

"Except they do exist." The man let out a laugh.

"Give me an example of someone who is a hybrid." The boy folded his arms, looking as if he would try and cut the man down again.

"Didn't the academy teach you that the Quincy used to be a part of Soul Society?" The man watched the looks of confusion all of the children gave him. "I guess they don't teach that the only difference between us and you happens to be our ideals, nothing more and nothing less. As for an example of an actual hybrid, someone who is of both Quincy and Shinigami blood... well, you're prime example of one."

"Excuse me?" Toshiro's temper flared and the temperature in the room dropped as he purposefully let his captives know he was not happy. "I died on a plain of ice and went to Soul Society, yet you're telling me otherwise."

"I know for a fact that you were born in Soul Society, Hitsugaya Toshiro." The man watched him carefully. "You're actually a second generation hybrid. Both of your parents are first generation hybrids, your mother's Quincy parent being one of the few that stayed behind in Soul Society under the condition they have their powers sealed. Cowards I might add. Still, you are a very special child indeed."

"_I'm_ a special child? You're kidding, right?" Toshiro glared at the man, his mind becoming even more agitated about his actions.

"Why wouldn't you be? You're the youngest to graduate the academy and you did it in a year. Your the youngest to ever achieve bankai and the youngest captain ever. Is that not a special achievement? Of course, you were forced by Soul Society into being a weapon, so you mind is likely dead set that we're going to treat you in the same regaurd, but..."

"First, it is none of your buisness whether or not Soul Society treats me as a weapon. Second, that was my fate to be nothing more as a weapon and I expect no less from you. But this time..."

"I've told you, I don't want to use you as a weapon. I see Soul Society has brain washed you into believing you had no choice in being a weapon. I mean it when I say I don't expect that from you."

"Don't speak of my life as if you know what I've gone through. I've _had_ to go to the academy because my reiatsu was killing my granny. _If_ you think that makes me special, then so be it. I personally find myself to be a freak compared to everyone else. So..."

The man let out a deep sigh. "I guess there is no use arguing with you about this." He then turned to Bambietta. "I need you to run a mission while the substitute shinigami is still detained in soul society. It will take time for them to open up the gates to let him through since we destroyed the twelfth division control systems."

"What do you want me to do?" Bambietta grinned at the leader.

"I want you to bring me Kurosaki Ichigo's younger sisters."

A murmuring was heard from a few of the members who wondered why the man would want the substitute shinigami's siblings. Toshiro's eyes went wide suddenly. "Please... don't."

"Excuse me?"

"Please don't involve Kurosaki's sisters in this."

The man raised an eyebrow at the boy. "You're not in a position to make any demands of me."

To his sudden surprise the boy bowed low to the ground. "If you let them be I'll do anything you want."

The child's body shook and there came a few sounds of displeasure from a few of the older children who had been brought in,, almost as if they felt Hitsugaya was selling out. The man raised an eyebrow before stepping off of the throne and walking over. His massive hand grabbed the back of the boy's hand and pulled the boy up so he was dangling limply from his hand. "Why do you insist on making yourself look like a fool."

The boy looked him straight in the face, his mouth twisted up and his bright teal eyes watering a bit. He was obviously fighting back his emotions, which didn't impress the man. The man narrowed his eyes at the boy. "My question is why do you care about his sisters like you do?"

"That isn't any of your business. I repeat the fact I'll do anything you want if you'll leave them alone." The boy trembled but still managed to stand up to him.

"No." Juhabach noted again how much the boy looked like his grandmother. "I would do a lot of things for you, but this is not one of them. Kurosaki happens to also be a hybrid, which means his sisters are also hybrids."

"They aren't objects." Toshiro stated firmly. "Don't take their freedom away. I said I would do anything you want. I'll even be a weapon if..."

"Weapon?" The man glared at the boy. "Why do you think your purpose is to be a weapon? That would put you into harms way and if anyone were to hurt you I would be forced to harm them." He watched the look of confusion spread across the boy's face. "You inherited your grandmother's zampaktuo, which is proof that you are of her bloodline. I know that my youngest son has no children, which makes you the child of my eldest. _That_, dear child makes you my heir."

"You're lying." Toshiro's voice suddenly strained and his ability to speak up against the man began to faulter. He could also hear the other children mutter about him and he knew he was unlikely to find any ally. "I told you, I died on a plain of ice and was found in soul society by a little old lady who raised me."

"So Silbern never told you the truth?" The man frowned. "Or Rangiku for that matter."

Panic spread across the child's face. "My fukutaicho would never lie to me and I don't know who this Silbern you speak of is."

Juhabach lifted Toshiro up farther and pushed him into the man who captured him's arms. "Silbern is your father. He's a man with silver colored hair."

"_Gin?_" The boy glanced at the ground, his entire body shaking. "Even if I am your heir, I'll do what you want if you leave them alone. Please..." The boy bit back calling the man grandfather.

"My answer is no. As I said, I would do many things for you. This is not one of them, nor is letting the other children I brought with you." The man looked at the boy. "None of the children we've brought here or any of the Quincy here aren't good enough for you. Thus your bride to be needs to be one of the Kurosaki girls, as they are both hybrids and like your mother and grandmother were of the noble bloodline. Not to mention out of the five noble families the Shiba clan are the nearest relatives to the Royal family."

"So then this is a move for you to take over the throne of Soul Society?" Toshiro's voice strained. "And how can they be related to the Shiba clan unless..."

The boy paused as a partial realization dawned on him. The man suddenly patted the top of his head. "I have no ambitions for the throne. However, with your father dead and your grandmother's older brother having passed away, that makes you the heir to the throne. You didn't think having a dragon zampaktuo had no special meaning? Quite a few of the captains of Soul Society knew that the dragon zampaktuo are inherited through the royal bloodline. Do you understand your position now?"

"Even if I'm not a weapon, all I amount to is a tool for you and everyone else." Toshiro glanced at the ground. "Still... please leave them out of this."

The man suddenly grabbed the boy's chin and forced him to look him in the face. "You make it rather clear that you care about one of those two. You know full well that under Soul Society's laws you could never marry her, let alone date her. Yet you and I both know that is what you want."

Toshiro's mouth formed a deep frown. "Even if _that' _s what I want you can't guarantee that is what she wants. I refuse to take away the freedom of someone I care about as I've never in my life had my own freedom."

"I will not resend my order for Bambietta to bring the Kurosaki sisters here. However, since you are so adamant about their freedom of choice not being taken away I will give them the option of whether or not they marry you. Keep in mind that here they don't have to worry about the laws of Soul Society or the Living World anymore then you do."


	28. 28: Children Born of Darkness

**Title**: Children Born of Darkness_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst, Hurt/Comfort_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Ichigo, Schwarz, Juhabach, Bambietta  
**Summary**: Ichigo finds out that Toshiro and he have a lot more in common then he previously thought.  
**Rating**: T

**Children Born of Darkness**

"I cut off the puppies ear!" A small figure danced in front of Juhabach as he stepped back into their home territory. He watched as the small child bounced, twirled and jumped across the floor.

"For a child to have such a freedom despite being forced to live in such a prison as this is amazing. I would rather she have grown up here where her spirit can thrive and be itself rather then in that stifling Soul Society." The man turned to look at Schwarz, narrowing his eyes as he did so. "I see you weren't able to bring her brother home."

"I ran out of time and found myself unable to knock the boy out despite my best efforts. On the positive side, I simply left him with a head injury. Though I must say, I am loath to leave him with that woman, that trickster."

"Watch your tongue. Despite the fact I understand your dislike and lack of respect for that woman, keep in mind she is the mother of your brother's children." The man turned back towards the throne room. "I found myself unable to bring back Kurosaki Ichigo as well, another child of darkness. The sooner we get them under our protection the better. Of course, they'll come to us. You still have the boy's bankai release?"

"I can start repairing some of the walls that have weakened greatly, if you so choose." The man stated, his lips pushing together.

"Don't worry. I'll leave that task for the boy when he gets here. Soon, I'll have all my children born of darkness here, my sons and my daughters."

Ichigo walked along, the look in his eyes revealing that something was bothering him deeply. Most people would have assumed it was simply because Yamamoto was now dead and that he was morning the old man, but there was more to it then that. A soft crunching of rubble caused him to suddenly look up and see a very child like face looking down at him. "You seem to have gotten off better then some of the others."

Toshiro hopped down to where Ichigo was, his head bandaged tightly. "I'll simply say that if my opponent hadn't treated me like a child, I would likely be in the same position as Kenpachi and Byakuya. The news has it that both have survived, but they won't likely be able to help us in the upcoming battle."

"So the old man really is dead then?" Ichigo glanced away, frowning as he did so.

"His blade is shattered in many, many pieces." The boy watched as the Substitute Shinigami continued to walk away from him. "Ichigo... can we talk?"

The teenager suddenly froze, a look of shock coming to his face. "I don't want to really talk about what that bastard told me just yet."

"I was actually wanting to talk to you about what my opponent told me. Actually, it was Matsumoto who suggested I talk to you because what that person said bothered me. She hates it when I keep things in, but knows there are certain things I can't talk to her about. She's been redirecting me to the new taicho of the fifth division when it comes to my problems with Hinamori. Talking to him has helped a lot."

Ichigo turned around and sat down on a rather large piece of rubble. "Go ahead and talk."

Toshiro glanced away. "I told you that my opponent kept treating me like a child, but he kept referring to the fact I was a child way to much for my liking. It seemed way to important to him that I was a child and that he wasn't supposed to do me any major harm. He also kept calling Rangiku some really nasty names that I dare not repeat."

"Toshiro..." Ichigo closed his eyes. "Why do you have a problem with people calling you a kid when you are one?"

"Matsumoto says I worry to much about getting disrespected for my age." The boy glanced away. "It was different this time though, and even she knows it was different. The way he worded it..."

"Wait..." The substitutes head suddenly darted up. "_How_ did he word it."

"He referred to me as a child born of darkness."

Ichigo found himself suddenly standing up and grabbing the boy's shoulder. "There is something else he said to you that he isn't telling me, that you're afraid to tell me aren't you?"

"There isn't..." Toshiro glanced away.

"He said something about how he was planning on taking you away to join them, wasn't he? Before he left I mean."

The small Shinigami pulled away, slapping Ichigo's hands away. "Don't be ludicrous. I would never, ever join them, so suggesting that I would..." Two teal eyes looked at that ground. "That is just ridiculous. There is no way I would let them re-educate me."

"Are you saying that my suggestion that he said they were planning on kidnapping you as well as re-educating you was ridiculous? Or are you saying that the idea that they could get you to turn on Soul Society and everything you know is ridiculous?"

The small taicho glanced up, a great deal of anger in his eyes. "I'm more curious as to how you know the conversation I had with this person before I even told you Kurosaki."

"That bastard called me his son born of darkness."

"That's..." Toshiro suddenly glanced away, his teeth gritting together.

"Toshiro... can you trust me? What is it that you aren't telling me?" Ichigo looked down on the boy. "I'll tell you what else he told me, if you tell me what else you were told."

"He said something about the majesty wanting his son of darkness back in reference to me. But he also said it about you." The boy glanced at the ground still.

"Why do I have the feeling that you still aren't telling me what is bothering you."

"I wasn't born here in Soul Society. I died and came here on a plain of ice. So, saying I am a child of born of darkness indicates that I had to be born somewhere, but..."

"That's funny." Ichigo began to scratch his head in confusion. "I would have thought that your inner world would have been a plain of ice. Are you sure that you died and came to Soul Society, or that you weren't for some reason born here, or even brought here after you were born?"

Toshiro glanced up, his eyes going wide. "Kurosaki, what do you know?"

"The bastard brought up my dead mother. Apparently on top of having a father who is a Shinigami, my mother is in some way related to the Quincy. The only reason I've got as little damage as I do is because I used some sort of defense mechanism that I saw one of the Quincy use, which is where he told me my Quincy blood had re-awakened and other confusing shit. Including the fact I am a son born of darkness."

Ichigo watched as the small taicho went and sat on the rubble. "You know we can't tell the others about this. Do you think that friend of yours knows?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought the reason he treated me differently from the other Shinigami. I knew it wasn't because of my rank as he didn't treat the other captains differently. I thought it was because he saw me as a child and didn't feel I should be exposed to the tripe of Shinigami versus Quincy... but now..."

"It is possible he knows." Ichigo took a deep breath.

"At least you have an idea who your parents are." Toshiro spoke up, his hands clenching at the pants part of his uniform.

"I doubt I'll find out that my dad isn't my real dad. The idea that he's not my father is a tad ludicrous. I mean, I know that we have similar powers, but his zampaktuo has a different name and all."

"Can we just pretend we haven't had this conversation?"

"Yeah... but if you need to talk to someone, chances are I'm likely the best candidate."


	29. 29: Uncle (518)

_I've kind of been waiting for a few of my theories to be jossed or proven and it is getting closer._

**Title**: Uncle_**  
**_**Genre**: Family_**  
**_**Characters**: The Shiba and Kurosaki families  
**Summary**: Ganju calls Isshin Uncle so he is related to them, but...  
**Rating**: K+

**Uncle**

Kukaku had a feeling as soon as she saw Kurosaki Ichigo which led to her having a theory. She fought back the urge to discover the truth of the theory as they had important business with Aizen to be taken care of. Once the business was finished she found herself heading off to the living world to investigate.

She was about to knock on the door of the Kurosaki clinic in her soul form when she suddenly heard a voice from behind her. Her face twisted up in annoyance. "What are you doing Kukaku?"

"Ganju... why did you have to follow me?"

"'cause, I heard you were coming to the living world and I thought I would come to. I thought I would visit Ichigo."

"Didn't you hear? He lost his powers. He can't see us."

"No. I didn't hear." Ganju then spoke up rather calmly. "So... I knew I was dumb, but why are you visiting him if he doesn't have his powers? Particularly in soul form?"

Kukaku turned to hit her younger brother on the head when the door opened. A familiar voice spoke up. "I was wondering when you two would show up."

She could see her brother's jaw drop and she watched as he pointed a finger at the man behind her. She folded her arms across her chest, a smirk appearing on her face. "I'm surprised you recognize our..."

"Uncle!"

Kukaku felt the corner of her eye twitch as she heard her younger brother call their eldest brother uncle. However, a thought came to her mind as she felt she was owing a certain someone a bit of retribution. She turned around and suddenly hugged the man. "I had the feeling you were alive uncle!"

A smirk reappeared on her face as she felt Isshin flinch and she saw out of the corner of her eye that his facial features were twitching. She carefully whispered into his ear. "You can't deny that you deserved this one dear brother. And anyways, you were always old enough to be the father of all three of us."

She heard him whisper back. "That's all right. It may be easier to explain you two as cousins to Yuzu and Karin, though I'll need to eventually get around to telling Ichigo the truth."

Ganju though wasn't finished. He folded his arms across his chest. "How dare you take off on us and make Kaien the head of the house hold. And now Kukaku"

"Nice. He remembers that, but not that I am his brother and not his uncle."

_Author's note – So, one of my theories is that Isshin was the Shiba clan's eldest brother, but as of chapter eight there is a hint that he may be their uncle. I thought this would be funny though because it plays into Ganju's stupidity._


	30. 30: Kitty Kat (518)

**Title**: Kitty Kat_**  
**_**Genre**: Family, Humor_**  
**_**Characters**: Yourichi, Urahara and ?  
**Summary**: Urahara brings home a new member for their family, much to Yourichi's disappointment  
**Rating**: T

**Kitty Kat**

Yourichi knew trouble was brewing as soon as she heard that the Quincy were back. She had heard stories, but knowing the stories would not prepare her for the trouble that she would find herself struggling to wrap her mind around. Urahara had conveniently left her out of the action and left her in charge of Jinta and Uryu, the children they had taken in. She swore that Uryu was some sort of clone meant to be their daughter, or a Mod Soul created specifically so that they could have a child.

"Yourichi!" Letting out a sigh she went to greet the person who had become her unofficial husband as they were not legally married in the living world or Soul Society and they hadn't had that kind of relationship yet. That may be why he kept bringing things home. Speaking of which... "I brought us home a new little one."

She turned the corner and found her cheek bone suddenly twitching. The _thing_ he had brought home was not little at all. Nor did this _thing_ have a pleased look on its face. No, the _thing_ looked rather displeased. Urahara held said _thing_ under the armpits and spoke up again. "And they happen to be a kitty as well! It's a bonus."

She could see the eyebrow of said _thing_ twitch in annoyance and she was surprised that said _thing_ was putting up with the man's antics. She waved her hand at said person. "Ignore him Grimmjow. I believe that is what your name is. He's got a very weird fetish when it comes to anything dealing with me."

"Yeah... but I'm not a kid."

Urahara had a sulking look on his fac.e "But you're a kitty kat."

"And what does that have to do with you bringing me home to be a part of your stupid family."

Yourichi let out a deep sigh before transforming. She then sat their licking her paw. She glanced up to look at the blue haired Espada. "Well?"

The reaction was a jaw dropped and eyes that were glazed over. She then transformed and received an answer of said Espada getting a nose bleed and nearly passing out. She walked over and patted him on the head. "Yeah, yeah. His behavior is rather creepy."

Urahara's pout deepened. Seriously, what was it with child geniuses anyway? They seemed to have a knack for being weird in one manner or another, and that included the child taicho of the Gotei Thirteen, though he was the least strange of the ones she had met.


	31. 31: Broken Trust (526)

**Title**: Broken Trust_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Kyoraku, Ukitake and others  
**Summary**: Toshiro finds his world breaking apart and the last straw comes with yet another death. In order to try to find answers he finds himself making a rather big mistake.  
**Rating**: T

**Broken Trust**

Two bright teal eyes stared at the broken sword that lay on the cushion as the young mind that they belonged to tried to wrap his mind around the whole situation. The head captain happened to be dead and there was another hole added to his heart. "_Hyorinmaru, how should... I keep forgetting I can't hear him anymore. The head captain's fukutaicho and now him though. Why?_"

It was then that Soifon burst into a yelling rage and the small taicho found himself taken aback as well broken from his train of thoughts. He looked over at her and his mind puzzled something else. "_Why is she acting like none of them liked Yamamoto? They wouldn't have come back had they hated Yamamoto, right?_"

The boy then heard the comment from the seventh division taicho about wanting to yell and not doing so out of respect for the old man. The boy found himself thinking to himself. "_Do I want to yell? Yes... I think so. But why am I not when normally I would be yelling long before Soifon? Would I normally be yelling before her? I don't know. I'm not sure of my feelings._"

The boy found himself heading out and back to his division only to find Rangiku in a daze. "_There is no use talking to her. Something about our fight with the Quincy bothered her. It bothered me as well, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I don't like not being able to figure things out like this. If I had Hyorinmaru, then I could figure it out._"

He got to work on the paperwork and then let out a deep sigh. "_I should be training, finding a way to communicate with Hyorinmaru. How much time has passed since I was at the first division._"

"Hey, taicho. Did you hear that Kyoraku's been named the new head captain. They sent a message a couple of hours ago. No, I think more."

The boy looked up at his fukutaicho and found himself noticing the fact that she had actually made a dent in the paperwork despite her current mood. He on the other hand hadn't made anywhere near the same kind of dent in the stack. "How long have I been out of it."

"Don't worry about it."

"Matsumoto, please."

"It's the afternoon."

Toshiro got up. "Since he is now the head captain I will go and see him and see what he wants me to do if anything."

"Taicho..."

"I'll be find Matsumoto." The boy got up and first headed to the first division. The new head captain was in the first division office and he knocked on the door. He stepped into the room.

Kyoraku glanced up and closed the book he had been reading, frowning as he did so. "Ahh... Hitsugaya Taicho. There is something I need to talk to you about."

"I see." The boy glanced out at the sky. Another knock came and a messenger came into the room.

"I came to tell you that the captain of the eleventh division has sent word that we are to make funeral preparations for the forth division captain."

The boy found his eyes going wide. "Wait... I don't understand..."

"Shit... you weren't supposed to hear about this like this." Kyoraku got up and went over to whisper something into the messenger's ear before he took off.

"Kyoraku..." Toshiro frowned. "Unohana is dead?"

"Toshiro... sit in this chair across from me so that we can talk."

"Why are you reacting the way you are. I don't understand."

"Sit, now." The boy let out a deep sigh and then sat down in the chair across from the man. "Yes, Unohana is dead."

"Why?"

The man folded his hands in front of him. "Have you ever heard the story of the thirteen oni?"

"That's just a story they tell little kids to get them to go to bed and behave. My grandmother never had to tell me the stories to frighten me, but the older kids liked to use them to bully me when I was younger." Toshiro then shook his head. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"It isn't just a story Toshiro." The man narrowed his eyes at the boy. "What else do you associate with the number thirteen." He watched as the boy swallowed. "I take it you know what I was wanting you to think of. Yes, the thirteen oni were the founders of the Gotei Thirteen. The last two remained are now gone."

Toshiro found himself shaking his head and could feel his throat tightening. "_I'm a captain, I need to remain composed. Unohana's dead... but... and she's not an oni!_" He took a deep breath. "But why is Unohana dead."

"Unohana was the first Kenpachi Toshiro."

The boy swallowed and felt his hands clutch the chair. "But..."

"Yes, yes. I get what you're thinking."

"Then you should know as well as I that Unohana is an oni. I wouldn't call the head... I would call."

"It's all right Toshiro."

"The current Kenpachi killed her, did he not. Why?"

Kyoraku sighed "What did I just tell you about her? Don't hold it against Kenpachi."

"I won't." Toshiro glanced at the ground. "_Or will I?_"

"This isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I came to see if you had any orders for me." The boy glanced up, a rather hopeful look in his eyes.

"Good. Because I do have an order for you. I don't want you to participate in the upcoming battle."

Toshiro's face had remained emotionless to this point but he could feel his mouth falling into a frown and his eyes widening. "Wait? What have I done wrong?" _"You lost your Bankai moron._" "Well, I can see what I've done wrong."

"You're not in trouble." The man frowned at the boy. "I'm going to be brutally honest with you here. Without your Bankai, you're not going to be much help to us."

"What if the twelth division can find a way to unlock my Bankai?" The boy's eyes gained a hopeful look.

"The answer is still going to be no. How many people have you lost recently that you cared about? You've not tried to grieve for them. You're not even grieving right now."

"You yourself said that this isn't the time too..."

"You're still a child Toshiro. What I expect of the others is different."

The boy felt his anger suddenly surging forward. "The prior head captain..."

"... of course did things differently. I'm not tied down to the same traditions he is and I have an honest reason for you not going into battle."

"You think I'd be useless."

"Toshiro..."

"I'm going to ask that you not call me by my first name head captain. You're only making my mood worse. Or are you suggesting that you don't think I deserve the captain's rank?"

"You know I never said that."

"I've also worked really hard on finally mastering my Bankai too, so if I got it back..."

"You may have finally mastered it, but you are far from reaching your fullest potential." Kyoraku watched as the boy's eyes fell to the ground. "Eventually you could be Head Captain."

"I don't want to be." The boy stood up.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said that..."

"I think I'll take my leave. I'm not useless though." Toshiro found himself turning and heading away from the man. "_The thirteen oni..._"

He headed towards the library and began to look at the books, only to find himself nearly dropping the book. "Shiro-chan?"

"I'm sorry. I came to see if I could do any research that would help since I'm pretty much useless otherwise."

"Don't say that. You're very useful." Ukitake smiled at the boy. "You can help me as that's what I am going to do."

"Tell that to the new head captain."

"What do you mean. Kyoraku..." The white haired man shook his head.

Toshiro picked up another book. "He forbid me from fighting in the upcoming battle."

"I see... so he's planning on having you stay here in Soul Society when the group that is going to attack the Vandriech goes, if we can find out where they are."

The boy paused, frowning. "Am I that useless?"

"I don't think it is an issue of you being useless." Ukitake glanced away. "We've already lost the former fukutaicho of the first division and the head captain."

"Unohana as well..."

The man paused before turning his head. "So... she finally had that fight she wanted with Kenpachi?"

"Is that supposed to make me happy about the fact."

"Toshiro... you're not reacting the way I'd expect you to be reacting."

"What? Do you both think I should be bawling my head off like a little kid? I'm not a little kid anymore despite the fact both of you think otherwise."

"Normally you go off by yourself and do whatever it is you do by yourself."

"_That would actually be going off and bawling my head off like a little kid. But I don't do that anymore. Seriously..._"

"Right now you're remaining close to people. It is a bit worrisome."

Toshiro closed the book. "I'm going to head off in this direction since you believe I'm better off having some time by myself to grieve."

"That's not..."

The boy kept going through the archive, wandering farther and farther away. "_The thirteen oni. Has he ever thought of the connection between the two?_"

The boy went through various books and paid no mind to the fact it was late at night. Despite the fact people normally weren't allowed in late at night an exception was likely being made. He picked up another book and opened it, his eyes taking in the information and eating it up. He glanced up towards where Ukitake was before swallowing.

A couple of hours later Ukitake came looking for him but instead found a note left on the table for him. He quickly opened the letter only to find his breath catching. He spun on his heals and headed to the first division and opened the door. "Kyoraku!"

"Have you found something dealing with how to get Vandenreich?"

"No... but apparently Shiro-chan did."

The man let out a sigh. "He shouldn't be involved with this. What did he find?"

"How to get their apparently, but he put whatever book he found the information in back and left me this letter. It isn't good." The man dropped it onto the desk. "Did you really have to make him feel like he was going to be useless in the fight."

"I'm not sure..." Kyoraku let out a deep sigh. "Perhaps I should have been clearer about why he wasn't to fight in this battle. This just makes our situation worse."

"He can take care of himself Kyoraku, but I don't like the idea of him doing this."

"This isn't a matter of him being able to take care of himself. If that was the problem with him being in this fight I wouldn't have forbidden him from fighting." The man set the letter down. "Reconnaissance of all things..." The man then looked up at his friends. "You know as well as I that Toshiro is special."

"Yes. He holds the hope and future of the Gotei Thirteen on his shoulders. If you had simply told him that, surely..."

"Except that isn't the reason I forbid him either." Kyoraku tapped a book. "I've read old man Yama's notes. Perhaps I should have told him the truth, but the kids emotional state is bad enough as it is with the two top seats of the first division dying."

"And Unohana. I heard from Toshiro."

"At least we have a body to bury." Kyoraku glanced down at the book. "Basterbine... that is Juhabach's family line."

"Basterbine. Wasn't the child that fought Komamura fought?" Ukitake frowned at the man. "What does this have to do with Hitsugaya Toshiro?"

"Apparently Toshiro's zampaktuo is one of the ones inherited through family lines. The original shinigami who wielded an ice dragon was a female who disagreed with the way the Quincy were treated by us and went with them. Yamamoto's notes indicate that the reason he didn't kill Juhabach was because she defended that man."

Ukitake continued to frown. "Are you saying that Hitsugaya Toshiro is also of the Basterbine bloodline?"

"Not just the Basterbine bloodline, the Royal Families as well. That woman was in fact the daughter of the king of soul society. That girl you mentioned is likely of the Royal Bloodline."

"Wait... he wouldn't need the zero squad to get into the Royal Palace. He would just need..."

"..one of them. When that man says he plans on rebuilding Soul Society, he means he plans on rebuilding the entire structure. Yamamoto didn't just believe that Toshiro was a member though, he believed that the boy is the direct heir to the throne."

"Toshiro's not old enough though too..."

"No, he's not. Juhabach can place himself in the position of adviser to the young king."

"Toshiro wouldn't..."

"All he has to do is lock the boy up and by the time Toshiro is old enough to take the throne it will be to late."

"You should have told him."

"And how do you think he would handle hearing the news." Kyoraku then glanced to the side. "There is also no telling how the man will also try to influence Toshiro's young mind. Despite being a captain, Toshiro is still a child and with the right moves can still be molded in a manner in which a person sees fit. Yamamoto admits to doing it in his own writing."

"Old man Yama wouldn't..."

"Jushiro, the man was one of the Oni." Kyoraku however folded his arms across his chest. "However, having read his notes his reasons for molding Toshiro wasn't without merit. He was well aware that the old ways were dying out."

"So he was trying to mold Shiro-chan in a manner that would keep the old ways strong?"

"Actually, just the opposite. Yamamoto's goal was to foster a strong awareness of true justice in that boy's mind."

"Hopefully it will help him out."

"How? He's as good as out of the battle once they capture him and his strong sense of justice will do no good if he's locked up."


	32. 32: Idiocy (518)

**Title**: Idiocy_**  
**_**Genre**: Humor_**  
**_**Characters**: Those with Urahara  
**Summary**: One persons view when it comes to the rag tag group.  
**Rating**: K+

**Idiocy**

A set of eyes looked at the two companions, one with blue hair and one with brown hair. Things were peaceful, but there were also signs and rumors that things were going to become crazy real soon, despite the fact all three wanted the peaceful times they were enjoying to not end. So far they hadn't run into any problems, but then a sudden spike caused the pair of eyes to look in a certain direction while the blue haired companion went nuts.

Both moved forward while the brown haired companion narrowed his eyes at them in annoyance. The goal of the set of eyes was to go after the spiritual pressure that was familiar only to him, while his companion went after the other flaring reiatsu that could be felt. So much for the peaceful times as it was rather obvious that things were going to begin to change. The reiatsu that his blue haired companion was after disappeared, but the one he was after stayed.

The pair of eyes drew a blade and made his trade mark move of cutting the person from the head down, the mouth that belonged to the pair of eyes twisting up in disgust as the eyes of the pair glared towards the victim of the blade. A few silver strands of hair blew in front of the pair of eyes as they watched his rather annoyed companion move and place his blade against the throat of a familiar face with pin stripes. "Where is Kurosaki?"

"Grimmjow!" The head of bright blue hair suddenly turned to look at the person who called his name and the set of eyes that went with stared at the orange haired female as the male's mouth twisted up in irritation.

The tall male noticed the third companion and gave him a short greeting before turning and looking at the pair of eyes that was taking in the group. Said pair of eyes turned to see that the child Arrancar named Nel was there as well as her Fracion. The Fracion of Haribel were there as well, as were the two former annoying sidekicks of someone the pair of eyes honestly wanted to forget about. So far it seemed as if no one was paying him much mind, but then the female who had greeted Grimjow spoke up.

"I've seen you somewhere before." The female placed a hand on her mouth as she tried to think. The giant friend looked at the pair of eyes as his dark features twisted into a frown. He obviously knew exactly who he was. The pin striped man's face was twisted up in amusement at the reaction of the two, much to the pair of eyes annoyance. "Oh wait! You look like Toshiro-kun!"

That hadn't been expected and the pair of eyes would have much rather she have guessed who the pair of eyes was then associate said eyes with a similar pair of eyes. A sigh was released from the exact pair of eyes. The girl crossed her arms across her chest as she took up valuable time. "Are you his older brother?"

"Orihime..." The dark giant came to the pair of eyes rescue despite the fact said dark giant wouldn't like the idea that he was helping out the pair of eyes.

"What?" Orihime still had that look indicating she was deep in thought.

"That man is Ichimaru Gin, the former taicho of the third division and one of the ones that went along with Aizen when he defected." Urahara stated, his hands up in the air. "Now, Grimmjow-kun."

"You aren't a friend bastard. Actually, I don't even know who you are."

"Kurosaki-kun had to go through to rescue Soul Society from the Quincy."

The silver haired man frowned. "They're back, aren't they?"

"What do you mean that they're back?" Urahara smiled. "Apparently you know the enemy, don't you Gin? Care to fill everyone in on what you know?"

"If that man thinks I'm dead, then the person he's after is going to be Shiro-chan."

"Toshiro-kun?" Orihime blinked a couple of times. "But why?"

"You said it yourself that the two of us look like each other." Gin snapped his mouth shut.

"Then let us check back in on those in Soul Society to see how they are doing and we'll see if Toshiro is safe, why don't we?"


	33. 33: Daughter Mine

**Title**: Daughter Mine_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Gin and Bambietta  
**Summary**: Gin is dragged back and yet doesn't interact with his and Rangiku's daughter, much to the girl's displeasure.  
**Rating**: K+

**Daughter Mine**

Bambietta moved through the ice palace towards the gate in order to greet her uncle when he returned from the trip her grandfather had sent him on. A smile was on her face as the gate opened, but then faltered when she saw that he was pulling behind him a silver haired man. Her curiosity perked and she spoke up. "Who is he?"

The man paused, looking at her in surprise. "I really should report to his majesty first Bambietta."

"But you of all people never bring prisoners back unless you've been ordered. You were on a scouting mission." The girl found herself suddenly following behind him as he dragged the man to where her grandfather's study. She could see the man more clearly and noted that he was missing an arm and that he was unconscious. Her lips pushed together as she noted the circles under the man's eyes. "Who is he?"

Schwarz paused again. "Didn't I tell you that I had to speak with him first?"

"I'm coming with you then." The girl piped up.

"No." The man stated as he pulled the man forward. The girl still followed after him and slipped into the room as he entered the study.

Juhabach glanced up, his eyes suddenly darkening. "How..."

"He happened to be hiding among where the Hollows live. I knocked him out and brought him back home." Schwarz glanced down at the figure. "Age hasn't tamed his wildness, but his injuries have made him weaker then me and put me at an advantage. I think quite a few members of the Stern Ritter could take him out easily in is present state."

"Present state?" The man carefully walked over and looked down at the man. "His arm is missing."

"So I've noticed."

"Who is he?" Bambietta spoke up again.

However, before any of the males could speak up, the silver haired man opened his eyes, the irises a red color. The silver haired man moved to attack Juhabach, only to find himself slammed into the bookcase. A few books fell onto the floor and he found himself glaring straight into the man's eyes/ The large man glowered back at him. "Is that any way to greet your father?"

The man simply continued to glare at the man, the red color in his eyes deepening. The small female spoke up. "So... this man is my father? His coloring is lighter then grandfather and uncle, not to mention his eyes are a strange color."

The red color started to leave the man's eyes and they turned to a pale teal eye. The man looked right at the girl. "You..."

"Your daughter." Juhabach stated firmly. "Do you want her to see us get into a fight? Of course, knowing you as well as I do you aren't one to back down until someone beats some sense into you."

The man however made no move to react and his father let go of him. The silver haired man sunk to the ground and his one good hand touched his throat. "What do you want from me? Why did you send Schwarz after me?"

"I didn't send Schwarz after you. I didn't expect you to be where I sent him to scout. The fact he found you is just a bonus." The man narrowed his eyes. "Where is your son and the mother of your children?"

"None of your damn business." Gin snapped the words out.

Bambietta suddenly lunged at him, wrapping her small arms around his neck in an attempt to hug him. The silver haired man tried pushing her away. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"I prefer my personal space please."

The small female pulled away in shock, while Schwarz suddenly turned and glared at his brother. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'd rather keep my distance and not get close."

The small female blinked a couple of times. Her grandfather spoke up, looking right at his dark haired son. "Take Silbern and get him cleaned up and fresh clothes. Make sure he stays within the family quarters and doesn't wander off like he is apt to. Keep him from getting into trouble for once."

Gin suddenly felt his brother yank him up and away. He found himself healed up and locked away in the room he used as a child. A few days later the door opened and he could see a bright teal eye peeking in to see him. He found himself letting out a deep sigh before looking away. The next thing he knew the small female was tiptoeing closer to him.

He suddenly felt the female grab his one arm and lean in close. "Tou-san?"

"I'm not someone you want to get close to. Go somewhere and play."

Bambietta however continued to latch onto his arm and after a few minutes he found himself forcing her out through the door before shutting the door on her face. He then went and sat on the bed and pinched the bridge of his nose. A few hours later his brother came in to see him. "I'll ask again, what is wrong with you. She is your daughter."

"She might as well be yours with how long it has been since I've seen her. I think you also know as well as everyone else that I'll just be a disappointment. Plus, she doesn't need me."

"Moron."


	34. 34: Exile

**Title**: Exile_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Ichigo and Toshiro  
**Summary**: When Toshiro finds out that Ichigo is kicked out of Soul Society he finds himself torn even more.  
**Rating**: T

**Exile**

The small taicho sat on his division on the roof, the hilt of his non-communicative zampaktuo leaning against his right cheek. His small ears picked up commotion coming from the neighboring division and he got up and flash stepped over to the grounds. Looking down he could see the members of the eleventh division muttering to themselves. The words about the Kenpachi being out of it rang in his ears. "What do you mean he is out of it?"

"Uhh... Hitsugaya Taicho..." One of the men looked up at the boy.

"That pipsqueaks a captain?" A member that was rather new had a hand clapped over his mouth.

"That captain can freeze you where you stand." Another man blurted out. "He's scary as Unohana of the forth."

"Cut to the chase." Toshiro let out a deep sigh.

"Kenpachi came back in a daze. Then he gets to where he normally sits and he..."

"He just buries his face in one hand and ignores everyone even the fukutaicho." Another glanced away.

"I'll see what I can do." The boy hopped down from the wall and walked into the training area. He could see Ikkaku and Yumichika standing there staring at their captain.

"Ahh... Hitsugaya Taicho..." Ikkaku's head piped up. "You can try talking to him, but it won't work."

Toshiro walked over and folded his arms across his chest. "Kenpachi..." The man didn't respond at first, but then looked up at him with one eye. The boy took a deep breath before biting his lip. "You are..."

He glanced at Ikkaku and the man raised an eyebrow before turning to his partner. "Yumichika, go and make sure none of the men are hanging around."

The boy then turned his head to look at the man. "You're grieving, but it isn't for Yamamoto. Who then?"

Kenpachi simply looked at him, a frown spreading across his lips. After a few minutes he finally spoke up. "You were always very astute. I killed Unohana."

Ikkaku felt his jaw drop while Yumichika got a rather horrified look on their faces. Toshiro's eyes went wide while Yachiru simply clung to Kenpachi's arm. "You killed Unohana?"

"You heard me right."

"Why?" The boy shook his head at the man.

"She was the first Kenpachi." The man continued to cover the one eye.

"Wait..." Ikkaku frowned. "Unohana was the first Kenpachi?"

"Well, the records did say that the first Kenpachi was a female and that the tradition of battling to the death didn't start until after the second Kenpachi." Yumichika placed a hand over his chin. "Her zampaktuo is kido based..."

Kenpachi glanced over at his blade. "Yes. Minazuki is a kido based zampaktuo."

"Is?" Ikkaku shook his head.

Toshiro's eyes went wide. "You and Unohana have the same zamapktuo?"

"Well, that makes sense." Yumichika folded his arms. "I mean, that the zamapktuo passes from Kenpachi to Kenpachi."

The man then looked up at Toshiro. "You there. You are to calm about all of this."

The boy suddenly blinked a couple of times. "I don't know what you mean?"

"I would be thinking that you would be showing some kind of emotion as you were rather attached to the old man and her, but you're completely emotionless."

Toshiro glanced away. "My mind is still wrapping around things. Normally I'd have Hyorinmaru to talk things over with, but..."

Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "You mean by getting your Bankai stolen you ended up losing the connection with your zampaktuo?"

"It may have just been myself. I rather relied a lot on Hyorinmaru. I haven't talked to the other taicho who had theirs stolen about that." The boy glanced away.

"Hitsugaya Taicho, not to offend you here..." The third seat reached up to scratch his head. "Perhaps you should talk to the new head captain about staying out of this battle. I mean, you aren't at your fullest ability. I'm not just talking about not having your Bankai either."

The boy glanced away. "I'm going to head out now. I sense that Kurosaki is back."

Kenpachi reached up and grabbed Toshiro's sleeve. "Don't..."

"But..." The boy found himself looking at the man, a confused look on his face.

Ikakku folded his arms across his chest. "You should be able to feel his reiatsu. Something is wrong."

The boy tugged his sleeve away before shaking hi head. Letting out a deep sigh he found himself heading towards the place that he felt Ichigo's reiatsu coming from. He was surprised to see the substitute starting to head through the gate. "Kurosaki?"

The young man glanced up and Toshiro saw the look in the young man's face. "Toshiro..."

"Why are you leaving? You wouldn't abandon us. We need you."

Ichigo took a deep breath before turning to the boy. One hand reached out and touched the top of the boy's head. "I'm sorry Toshiro. I failed all of you big time."

The boy pushed the hand away. "What do you mean? Didn't you get your zampaktuo reforged?" He looked the physically older boy in the eye and his eyes went wide. "You didn't, did you."

"As I said, I'm sorry. The member of the Zero Squad who could reforge my blade told me that he refuses to forge my zampaktuo."

"Why? That makes no sense at all."

"Because... as far as he's concerned I'm a fake. I'm not a real shinigami."

"That raciest bastard."

"Toshiro..."

"He said that just because you have a parent from the world of the living." The boy's facial features twisted up. "Nothings going right. This is stupid."

"Toshiro..." Ichigo watched as the boy folded his arms across his chest. He then let out a deep sigh.

The boy first froze then flinched. "Kurosaki..."

"I know you don't like this at all." Ichigo kept hugging the boy. "There is nothing you or I can do about this. Thanks for coming and seeing me before I left. I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to you the last time. I'm also sorry about all of this. It's not how I wanted things to go down."

The teen then pulled away before heading through the gate. Toshiro found himself holding his hand up, a look of shock on his face. "_I didn't get a chance to say its Hitsugaya Taicho_." The boy then felt his head fall. "_Then again, I'm not really a taicho anymore. I may have the haiori and the rank, but Ikkaku's right in saying that I'm not my norm._"

Toshiro headed back to his division and saw Rangiku at her desk working on the paperwork for once. "_I can't abandon my division though._" He slipped into the seat at his desk and leaned on his arm. "_This is just stupid. Why do adults have to be so stupid. I mean, we could be getting along with the Quincy. Why are we even fighting?_"

The boy found himself pausing and taking a deep breath while his hand dropped. "_I don't agree with any of this..._"

"Taicho..." The busty female spoke up. "Is something the matter?"

"Yeah... I don't think I can do this anymore." The boy realized what he had said and slowly turned his head to look at his fukutaicho. "I'm sorry Matsumoto. I should have said that. I honestly don't know how more I can take of this though."

The woman stood up and walked over and gently took his face into his hands. "Its all right. I already figured that out. I'm used to change, so don't worry about me or the division. This time around you need to make the decision of what is best for you. Do you want to talk a bit while you figure it out?"

The boy glanced away. "Considering I don't have Hyorinmaru to listen anymore..." He then looked back. "You look like you're going to cry."

"Because... don't worry about it. Just tell me what is in that heart of yours."

"I can't hear my zampaktuo anymore and I no longer have Bankai, which makes me pretty useless. On top of the taicho and fukutaicho of the first division having died, Unohana's gone as well. So's Kurosaki."

"What do you mean?" Rangiku's face twisted up with worry.

Toshiro found himself frowning. "The member of the zero squad refused to reforge his zampaktuo so he can't help us. He's gone too."

"I see. You know, it is all right. As I said, you need to figure out what is best for yourself right now."

The boy looked up and frowned at her. "You look like you're going to cry."

"Yes... well..." The woman frowned before brushing the hair away. "I'm going to miss you. But in reality I'm hurting right now because I know you're hurting so much. Do what you need to do. Would you like for me to step out of the room?"

"Yeah... I'm also sorry Rangiku. This is a rather hard decision for me to make." The boy took a deep breath and didn't look up until he heard the door click shut. He then began to write.

_To whom it may concern,_

_This is my official resignation from the Gotei Thirteen. I am making this decision because I feel that my abilities as they currently are along with my mental state would be of no use in the up coming battle and being in battle would only lead to my comrades to being harmed. Part of my current mental state has to do with the recent deaths of the head taicho, his fukutaicho and the captain of the forth._

_But that honestly isn't just it. I've come to find out that Kurosaki Ichigo will not be fighting along side us in the final battle. The reason he will not be fighting with us is because the member of the Zero Squad refused to reforge the substitute shinigami's zampaktuo because he is not a true shinigami. I feel that in the long run this is the wrong decision and I feel it was made for the wrong reasons._

_I also have to admit I don't understand why we and the Quincy are fighting even. It seems that the reason we are fighting is because both sides have grudges against each other. If Soul Society has changed can't the Quincy have changed as well? Upon realizing this I realized how much of a child I still am and how much growing up I have to do if I can't understand this._

_Sincerly,  
Hitsugaya Toshiro, former taicho of the tenth division_

_P.S. Please give my haori to Matsumoto Rangiku. Maybe one day I'll be old enough to actually be an effective captain as well._

The boy let out a deep sigh before removing his haori and folding it carefully. He then set it and the letter on his desk. He then moved to the office door and opened it up. Turning to the side he saw Rangiku standing there with her hands folded behind her back. She turned to look at him. "So, you finished?"

"Yeah... I'm really sorry Matsumoto for doing this to you."

"Don't be. I've watched life be cruel to you more then any other person taicho. It's time something good happen to you, but..." The woman frowned. "I don't know if it will ever be that way."

"Don't worry. I can at least take care of myself. Life being rough on you does that to a person." The boy paused. "And Matsumoto... thank you. Since I'm not your taicho anymore I can freely say his. You're the closest thing I've ever honestly had to a mother in my life. So there is one thing right there that has been good. So promise me that you won't die."

"Got it."

The boy then slipped out of the division before heading to the gate and slipping past the guards to the world of the living. He picked up a gigai from Tessai at Urahara's place before heading over to Kurosaki's place. He hopped up to the window and saw Ichigo working on his homework. The boy tapped on the window.

Ichigo paused before looking up. He stared for a few minutes before coming to the window and opening it. "Toshiro?"

The boy slipped in. "Kurosaki."

"If you're here to try and convince me to go back to Soul Society, I can't. I was told to never come back."

"Then I'm never going back either." The boy sat on the bed and placed his hands into his lap.

Ichigo frowned and closed the window. "Toshiro... you're needed back in Soul Society."

Toshiro shook his head. "I'm actually in the same situation as you are. I lost my Bankai and can't talk to Hyorinmaru anymore. I also had to admit to myself that I actually got close to the two taicho and the fukutaicho that died. Even if I wanted to fight my mental state is pretty much trashed."

"Two taicho?"

The boy glanced up. "Unohana's dead."

"How? I know she was old, but she didn't seem that old."

"She was the first Kenpachi. Need I say anymore."

"No, you don't." Ichigo frowned. "Toshiro... aren't they going to be looking for you?"

"They'll have their hands filled with other problems. Can I please stay?"

"I'm no sure..."

"Ichigo!"

"Toshiro..."

"Please, Ichi-nii."

The orange haired teen let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms. "You can stay, if you listen to my conditions. First, if they come to take your scrawny ass back to Soul Society then go back."

"But..."

"If they plan on executing you for this, then I'll protect you from them. But you know what I mean by them coming and getting you." Ichigo then glanced away. "And understand that me being kicked out of Soul Society isn't just about me having one shinigami parent and one from the world of the living."

Toshiro shook his head. "But..."

The orange haired teen took a deep breath. "Apparently my mother wasn't just someone from the world of the living. She was a Quincy. So go ahead and see me if your enemy Toshiro."

"Is the reason you're not getting into this because you can't choose which side to be on?" The boy felt his lip trembling.

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "I wouldn't be siding with the Quincy even though I know full well they want me too. Attacking Soul Society because of some grudge is just wrong." Toshiro felt his body shake and he looked down at his lap. He felt a few tears fall onto his hands. He felt the teen place a hand on each shoulder. "Toshiro?"

"Why do adults have to be so stupid?" The boy found a hand coming up to his eye two try to wipe away the tears only to find them coming faster. "They would be dead if it weren't for this stupid grudge. Why can't we just get along? I'm tired of fighting."

The next thing he knew Ichigo was sitting down next to him and pulling him into a hug. The door to the teens room suddenly opened. "Ichigo... Toshiro needs to go back. He can't stay here."

Toshiro glanced up, his sobbing pausing for a bit. He then wiped his tears away. "Taicho?"

"Speaking of adults being stupid..." Ichigo removed his arm from around the boy's shoulders before folding his arms across his chest. "Why didn't you tell me that I was half shinigami and half quincy?"

"Not now." The man came over. "Well, I need to talk to you about that, but Toshiro... you really need to go back to Soul Society."

"I don't want to." The boy wiped the tears away. "I thought you were dead."

"Toshiro... its not safe for you here."

"If you're talking about Soul Society coming here and hauling me back to Soul Society to stick me in the Maggots next, don't worry. They're busy right now."

"That's what has me worried. My powers haven't recovered and Ichigo... he can't protect you either."

Ichigo frowned. "You're speaking of the Quincy? They wouldn't have any reason to think they would come here. They're after Soul Society. Unless of course you think they'll come after me and that will put Toshiro in danger. If so, can't Toshiro stay with someone?"

Isshin sighed. "I didn't say Toshiro would be in danger. I said it wouldn't be safe for him. It's not safe anywhere in the living world for him right now. You've got to go back."

"Why?"

"Of all the..."

"You should obviously know how stubborn he is. He's also not his normal self. Yamamoto and Unohana are both dead."

"_Both?_ Both are dead?" The man took a deep breath. He looked at the boy. "Then Toshiro's in even more danger of being kidnapped."

"Because you think they can use him as a hostage."

"No... they''ll..." Isshin shook his head. "There is one place to go. You've got to go anyways Ichigo to brush up on the Quincy training you forget when your mother died. We can hide Toshiro there and I'll explain everything."

**M**

Uryu sat in a small office next to his father's training facility sulking while his father worked at the computer. "I don't like the fact I can't help."

"You made me a promise not to get involved with the Shinigami." The man continued to work.

The door opened with a click. "You-who!"

"Kurisaki..." The man paused before pushing up his glasses. "What do I owe this to?"

"I brought Ichigo here to be trained and I brought Toshiro here so we can hide him." The man stated as he put his hand into his shinigami robes and scratched himself.

Uryu felt the corner of his mouth twitch. "You told me _not_ to get involved with Shinigami!"

The man shut stood up. "Actually, this is an issue of a Shinigami choosing to get involved in Quincy affairs, not the other way around." He then looked at Toshiro. "This is the boy your told me about? The one that you think is the grandson of Juhabach?"

Toshiro opened his mouth. "Wait, I died and came to Soul Society. How can I be the grandson of anyone. Whose this Juhabach anyways?"

"He's the leader of the Quincy from Vandreich." Isshin folded his arms. "Toshiro... did you ever stop and think that it was odd how you always said that you died on a plain of ice and yet your inner world is a plain of ice?"

"Yeah, but..." The boy glanced at the ground. "Did I just mess things up more by coming here?"

"No, no. Don't think of it that way. Truth be told hiding you here may be better then trying to hide you in Soul Society. Particularly since Juhabach's likely identified you by your zampaktuo power as its the same as your grandmother."

Toshiro's eyes widened before looking at the others. "I'm not understanding any of this."

"You and me both." Ichigo glanced over at his fellow classmate. "I think Uryu is just as confused as I am."

"Don't lump me in with you!" The boy snapped. "So Hitsugaya is part Quincy, part Shinigami?"

"I am too apparently." Ichigo watched as the boy glared at him. "What?"

Uryu's father pushed his glasses up. "What you need to know Hitsugaya Toshiro is that you're important enough for both sides to go to war over. Because of the past problems they aren't likely to want to find a peaceful middle ground either."

"Adults are stupid."


	35. 35: Broken Trust II

**Title**: Broken Trust_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro and the Vandenreich  
**Summary**: Toshiro heads to Vandenreich only to find his big mistake coming back to bite him in the butt.  
**Rating**: T

**Broken Trust II**

Toshiro found himself opening the gate and path with great ease. Getting there seemed to easy as he arrived in the place. Glancing around, it wasn't much different then Soul Society and he found himself taking everything in. He then began to wander about until he got to outside a village. He pulled his clock around him and slid into the shadows of a building.

Looking around he found himself watching the villagers move about. Things seemed no different and his mind tried taking in everything. "_I don't understand. They seem no different from us._"

His conscious suddenly found himself feeling the presence of someone coming behind him. The child taicho turned to look at the person, only to find himself sent flying with a nice kick to the stomach. "What the hell do you think you're doing lurking around like that in the shadows?"

Toshiro felt his hand reach for his blade, only to pause as he heard those around him speak. "It's a Shinigami." And... "What's a Shinigami doing here?"

"You're a Shinigami?" The man came up and spit on the ground. "They wish death to any with Quincy blood. Brat, why are you here."

The small boy frowned, narrowing his eyes. "I don't know what you mean."

"You're here to spy on us, aren't you. To give us away to your comrades so that the can come and kill us." The man suddenly kicked Toshiro in the chest again and he then felt the man stepping on his throat.

"Stop it!" A voice rang out from the crowd. "He may be a Shinigami, but I doubt his majesty would be pleased with you harming a child."

"Take him to the ice palace. Let them deal with his punishment."

Toshiro found himself scooped up as his fingers twisted around his throat. "I'm a..."

"I don't care squat about you, but I can't have word getting back to our leader that I killed a Shinigami brat without his permission." The man began to drag him only to have the small taicho suddenly fight back, biting down on his hand. To his surprise he found himself held down by others while someone landed a blow that knocked him unconscious.

The next thing he knew he was waking up in a dark cellar, his body hanging limply from chains on the wall. "_Boy... did I mess up again._"

"Boy..." Toshiro glanced up and saw that two men were looking at him.

"Who are you?"

"You don't have the right to speak with us Shinigami." One of the man suddenly kicked him in the still sore spot.

"All I did was..." The boy found himself kicked in the stomach and the content of his stomach coming up. He gritted his teeth and clamped his eyes shut. "_All I want to know is where I am and who these people are._" He could feel them beating on his body and he was unable to fight back with the way his body was chained. He could feel the blood starting to drip from his mouth.

He heard the jail door open and he continued to keep his eyes shut. "What the hell do you think you three are doing?"

"Your highness."

Toshiro opened his eyes weakly and turned to look towards the steps. A man stepped down and he clamped his eyes shut. He heard a key go into the locks that bound his arms and legs to the wall and one limb at a time was released. He carefully rubbed the feeling back into his wrist while keeping his eyes shut.

A hand suddenly reached out to touch his cheeks and he flinched. "I apologize for the way you were treated. You weren't supposed to be thrown into the cells if someone brought you in, you should have been brought straight to the infirmary if you were unconscious like that."

"Aren't I a prisoner?" The boy glanced up, his eyes going wide as he realized it was the man he had fight before. "You... your the man who..."

"Follow me." The man turned to look at the men who wee cowering. "You should hope that his majesty is in a good mood, but I doubt he is."

Toshiro followed behind the man, his lips pushing together in frustration. He glanced around and took in the fact that various people were taking the site of a Shinigami being there in. He glanced at the ground as the got to two rather large doors and the soldiers on either side opened them. He then followed the man and watched as he made a bow in the Western style towards the front of the room.

Looking up slightly, he saw a man on a thrown. The man who was in front of him spoke up. "I brought the boy."

"What happened? I thought he was thrown into the cells without my permission, but someone also went so far as to beat the child?" The man narrowed his eyes. "Who beat you up child?"

Toshiro's eyes widened as he looked right at the man. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why are you interested in who beat me up?"

The man stared at him, his eyes narrowed and his mouth shut. Eventually he spoke up. "They beat you up despite the fact there was no order to do so."

"So?" Toshiro watched as the man raised an eyebrow from curiosity.

"Care to explain why you don't think I should punish them?"

"I am the enemy, am I not? So it would make sense that they would treat me as anyone would treat the enemy."

"Let me ask you a question. How would you Shinigami punish a soldier who threw an enemy into a jail cell and then proceeded to beat them up without permission."

"Jail time."

"Schwarz... do you know who beat the boy up?"

Toshiro felt the man suddenly touch his shoulders lightly. "They were a few men who were in there for being insubordinate in the first place."

Have their time start over, double it and add ten days."

"Isn't..." The boy found himself clamping his mouth shut. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man suddenly lean forward.

"You are rather beat up. You can stay in the infirmary or we can send someone to your quarters to heal you up."

"Wait..." Toshiro frowned. "I'm an enemy, am I not? Shouldn't I be put back into the jail cell? I got caught trespassing into your territory, did I not?"

"You're not a prisoner." The corners of the man turned up. "You're not a guest either though."

"I don't understand."

"There is a lot you don't know about yourself. Schwarz, if you would take him to his quarters I would appreciate it. I don't want anyone causing harm to my heir again."

Toshiro's eyes went wide and his jaw began to tremble. His hands slowly raised up to touch his ears as his mind tried to process what the man said. His eyes clamped shut and he found himself falling to his knees, while he could feel an awkward sound coming from his throat. He then went forward so he was leaning on his palms and could see the tears dropping down on his hands. "_Please... please let me wake up from this nightmare._"

"Schwarz, take care of your nephew please."

"I'll have to knock him unconscious."

"Do so."

Toshiro felt a sudden pain at the side of his neck and then he blacked out. The next thing he knew he felt a cold rag placed on his forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at the man. His mouth didn't open, but the man spoke up. "How are you feeling little one?" The boy found himself frowning at the man. "It is all right to tell me what you think."

"Is it?" The boy closed his eyes. "This has to be a horrible nightmare."

He then opened them and pulled his arm away and saw that he was no longer dressed in his Shinigami robes. Instead he was dressed in a white outfit. He took a deep breath of frustration. "Who changed my clothes?"

"I did with the help of the head of the infirmary. We had to take care of your injuries. Why didn't you tell me that your had the kind of injuries you had."

"I've had worse."

"I see."

"How am I related to you and that man?"

"Your my brother's child."

"Can I have Hyorinmaru back?"

"So that you can run away from home like your father did?" The man reached out to brush Toshiro's hair away.

The boy swallowed. "_I should have listened to Kyoraku. They're going to ask me to fight against my friends._"

Hot tears suddenly came down his cheeks. "You're crying again, why?"

The boy's mouth opened and then closed. "This is a nightmare. I want to wake up."

"Toshiro, your here among friends and family."

"_Why do I have to feel so helpless. First Kyoraku taicho says I'm not allowed to fight, and then I'm a prisoner of this place simply because of my birthright. How is this not a nightmare._" The boy sat up. "I don't trust you. I don't trust any of you."

The man glanced away. "No, I guess you wouldn't. You're safe here, that's what matters." Toshiro gritted his teeth and clutched his hurting side. "Do you need some pain medicine?"

"I want to know what everyone here expects of me."

"Expects of you? We don't expect anything of you. We actually expect you to stay out of the major fighting when it comes. Your to important to us to lose."

"I'm all that you want, so if I stay you could send a message to Soul Society and they won't try attacking or getting me back. Then there won't be that war."

"It's not that simple."

"Don't talk to me as if I am a child."

A hand reached up and touched his head. "The thing is, you are a child."


	36. 36: Different Set of Twins (530)

**Title**: Different Set of Twins (530)_**  
**_**Genre**: Family/Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Ichigo and Orihime  
**Summary**: There is something that Ichigo and Orihime have something they have to tell the other, but what they have to tell each other only makes their relationship awkward.  
**Notes:** This is a theory I discussed with my brother before, but didn't want to write it as the theory will bother some Ichigo/Orihime fans. However, chapter 530 caused the theory to be brought up and discussed again as this particular chapter helps the theory out one might say.  
**Rating**: T

**Different Set of Twins**

Ichigo sat in his room tapping his pencil as he thought about what his father had told him. His phone rang and his hand reached for the device and he placed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Kurosaki-kun?_"

"In... Orihime?" Ichigo frowned He glanced down at his notes before closing his eyes and leaning back. "Where are you?"

"_I'm calling from Urahara's shop. We just got back. You aren't training in Soul Society?_"

"How about you and I meet up so we can discuss that?"

"_All right, We'll meet you at the shop._"

"No. I need to talk to just you. Could you come by the clinic?_" _Ichigo listened to her voice and felt his throat tightened. "_I can't call it the __my__ family home considering what father told me._"

"_Sure. I'll be right over._"

The phone clicked off and the boy clicked it shut. "Seriously... she sounded a bit to enthusiastic about coming over here." Ichigo then got up and headed down the stairs and noticed that his father was sitting at the kitchen table. "Just a heads up that Orihime is heading over here."

"Ichigo, I'm not sure if that is a good idea."

"I told you when you told me, it is only fair that she hears the truth. So you better not go and hide yourself old man" The boy pulled out a chair and then leaned on his arm until he heard the doorbell ring. He then got up and headed towards the door and opened it up. Orihime was beaming at him. "Ahh... you're here. Come in and sit on the couch. I'll get you a soda."

The boy headed over to the kitchen refrigerator. Orihime glanced over at Ichigo's father. "Umm... hello Mr. Kurosaki."

"It's all right Orihime. He knows about Soul Society." The boy walked over and handed her a soda.

He watched as the busty teen glanced away. "Kurosaki-kun... why aren't you training in Soul Society. I thought the Zero Squad was supposed to be training you."

Ichigo sat down and opened his soda. "They were. One of them banished me from Soul Society. I can't go back."

The girl paused, before turning her head. "Umm... Kurosaki-kun... I need to tell you something."

"What..." The teen swallowed his soda

"I... umm... like you."

Ichigo found himself glad he hadn't taken another sip. "_Well, this is far from the way I wanted my first confession from a girl to go._" Letting out a deep sigh, he reached up his free hand to ruffle his orange hair. "Good grief. I'm sorry I can't reciprocate your feelings."

Looking over he saw that Orihime had bent down so that her arms hung down and the soda was close to the ground. "I get it. You like Rukia-chan. I can wait though."

"Rukia? What does that..." The boy glanced at the ceiling. "I really hadn't thought about that, but yes... I guess I like her. But that isn't..."

"Should we... umm... be really talking about this in front of your father? You're kind of loud." Ichigo glanced over to see that her cheeks had heated up.

"It's all right Orihime."

"You're finally calling me by my first name, so I thought you had given up on her."

"Again, I hadn't really thought about it. The reason I can't accept your feelings has nothing to do with that."

"Then what?"

"Umm... well, you're betrothed to Uryu aren't you?" Ichigo glanced away and scratched his head

"Lame!" Ichigo glared at his father who was making the baseball strike out symbol.

"No I'm not. I don't know where you got that idea." Orhime continued to look at the ground. "If that's the only problem..."

A sigh came from the teens mouth. "I can't reciprocate your feelings because we're twins." The busty female's eyes went wide as she continued to look at her feet. She then dropped the unopened soda onto the ground and raised her hands to her eyes as she began to cry. Ichigo reached out to touch her shoulder. "Orihime."

"It's not possible! Why would you lie about something like this?"

"I'm _not _lying!"

"Sora is my brother and we don't share the same birthday."

Isshin let out a deep sigh. "Orihime, come here and sit at the table. It was wrong of me to let Ichigo explain this to you, but I went ahead and let him do it because he took the initiative."

"Oh... thanks old man."

The female stood up and walked over to the table and pulled out a chair and sat down. She held her hands tightly in her lap. The man folded his arms. "First, there is an arranged marriage between you and Uryu, but I doubt his father is the type to hold you to a promise that his mother forced me and Masaki into before you were born."

"Second, your birthday is not your real birthday. It's actually fifty days away from your real birthday and is the day you were adopted into the branch family of the Ishida clan, the Inoue family. You were raised by your adoptive parents until they died in a sudden accident and your adoptive brother Sora then took over."

"That's a lie. I was told that my father was a drunk and my mother a prostitute. I was taken away from them for my safety."

"Well... the part of you being taken away for your safety holds some truth, but I'm not a drunk and Masaki isn't a prostitute. I can see why your great-aunt would have said that to you. I tend to have rather strange behavior and I made the mistake of joking that I was drunk once and she took me seriously despite the fact I wasn't being serious."

"But why would she call Kurosaki-kun's mother a prostitute! That's cruel!" Orihime's head darted up, her lips pushing together.

"That would be because Ryukin and Masaki were in an arranged marriage before I met to preserve the Quincy bloodline. Masaki and I fell in love and got married, ruining her plans. So that woman made us promise out first born daughter to be the betrothed of the Ryukin's first born son."

"But why? Why let her take me?"

"That... she promised you would be taken care of, your aunt did."

"But you could have taken care of me!"

"Dad used to be Toshiro's former taicho as well as the head of the Shiba clan." Ichigo spoke up. "You are all to familiar with how the laws worked back then. That's why it isn't a lie that it was for your safety either. If they ever found us, you would have been with another family and no one would have known."

"It's not fair." Orihime felt the tears fall down just as the door opened.

"We're home." The busty female suddenly began to cry even harder.

Ichigo pointed at his father. "You old man get to explain the situation to Karin and Yuzu. I'm going to go and do my homework."

"Explain what situation?"


	37. 37: Radio Kon (530)

**Title**: Radio Kon_**  
**_**Genre**: Humor/Satire_**  
**_**Characters**: Kon and young Masaki  
**Summary**: Kon interviews Masaki and asks various questions.  
**Notes:** I read some forum comments involving chapter 530 that I found to be rather interesting, not to mention some other things from earlier chapters.  
**Rating**: T

**Radio Kon**

Kon tapped on his microphone. "Testing, testing. One, two three. Anyways, welcome to Radio Kon, your all exclusive radio show that tells you everything you want to know about all of your favorite characters. Today we will be interviewing Kurosaki Masaki, but not just any version. We are going to interview the younger version."

"Hello everybody." Masaki pipes up. "Since I'm pretty much dead in the series I'm going to break the forth wall a lot and comment on things I honestly possibly shouldn't know about. Actually, there is going to be a lot of breaking of the forth wall."

"Umm..." The lion stuffed animal stared at Masaki for a few seconds before fumbling with his cards. "This first question comes from Shiba Ganju. His question is, 'What relationship do you and I have? I am very confused about the matter. Sis keeps getting mad at me about this subject. Please answer.' That is a good question."

"Why?" Masaki piped up, a rather evil smile on her face. "I've married into the family, so I am obviously an in-law."

"Ichigo's mom is creepy."

"I'm not my Ichigo's mommy yet."

"O.K. Well, in the Manga Kukaku has referred to an uncle and how he will be sad that Ichigo is going to area that the soul king resides in. So, that means that you're Ganju's Aunt-in-law as Isshin would be his uncle, and that would make him their cousins."

"Are you sure that Kukaku-chan is referring to Isshin?" Masaki continued to smile a rather wide smile.

"Umm..."

"Yes, well... how do you know that it isn't referring to my Uncle, who happens to be still alive despite having been experimented by Mr. Creepy in the twelfth division? He said he was just finished, and he's got those regenerative powers."

"That's just a theory."

"A rather creepy theory I doubt is true." The female's tone turned into a rather sing song manner.

"Umm... why did you bring it up if you didn't believe it to be true."

"Because it was fun." The female held up a finger. "Another option though is that guy who told dear Ganju not to attack my baby."

"I thought you said that you weren't Ichigo's mommy yet."

"You didn't exist as Kon before Ichigo was born."

"So, what relationship could Isshin have with them?"

"He could be their cousin, or he could be their brother. He kind of looks a bit young to be their uncle, so cousin and brother makes a lot of sense."

"Ahh..."

"But here's the thing. He could still be their uncle and yet also still be their cousin or brother at the same time!" Masaki chimed in.

"What..." Kon blinked a couple of times. "How does that work?"

"He's the head of the Shiba clan, or my darling Isshin was." The female piped up. "Over here in Japan is is considered polite to call your elders uncle or aunt. So, even if Kukaku was my husbands niece or cousin, the girls and Ichigo would still likely call her auntie because of the age difference."

"Yeah... right."

"Have you ever seen a movie called Summer Wars?"

"That movie was made after you died!"

"I told you that I was rather omniscient despite being in the position I'm in And yet I'm not. Or maybe I'm just being vague for the sake of being vague to keep people guessing" The young woman continued to smile. "Anyways, the half-brother in the series calls his half-siblings aunt and uncle. So it is not beyond reason that someone would call their sibling uncle in Japan if there was big enough distance."

Kon let out a sigh. "Moving onto the next question. This one is from your daughter Yuzu. 'Hello mommy. Should we call Uryu-nii's grandmother granny or auntie?"

"Call her either. I call her auntie because she isn't my mother."

"So, you aren't Uryu's father's cousin."

"I actually never said that. I very well could be his cousin."

"Gross! First cousins marrying!" Kon blurted out.

"I guess you are unfamiliar with this issue just as much as many people of the Western culture is. Which is strange because you're supposed to be from around here. In Japan it is completely legal to marry anyone that is forth rung or higher. First cousins, your parents siblings children are in fact fair game. While this kind of relationship isn't as popular as it used to be, it isn't taboo over in Japan either."

"Umm..." There came another flipping of the cards. "Ichigo asks if Isshin is his real father, or is it that crazy guy who called him his son born of darkness, or if Uryu is his half-brother and Karin and Yuzu are his half-siblings, or if he is hollow bait born of... what the … the hollow that attacked his supposed father."

"Don't be silly Ichigo. Your father is your father. I wonder who put such a silly notion into your head. Juhabach may be distantly related to us, but he so is not your father. You read enough Shakespeare you should know not to take things so literaly. Also, Ryuu-chan is like a brother to me. And really... do you think I would sleep with a hollow."

"Yeah... and your mother is creepzilla."

"I'm going to pretend that was a joke in relation to the last thing I said."

"Hmm... oh, this one is from Orihime. 'I am worried about Ichigo actually being my twin. I don't want that, because it means I can't marry him. I'm trying to wrap my word around that."

"Well, you and I do look a lot alike and that's one of the reasons people who read the Manga like to pair you two together, so the resemblance thing is nothing new. To be honest I don't know if it is true or not."

Masaki then continued. "I may or may not have been trained to have special powers, which would explain your special ability, that and having a shinigami father. Which would also explain why your powers aren't that of a fullbringer."

"Ahh... that makes sense. Or it doesn't."

"And there is the fact your birthday is fifty days away from Ichigo's exactly. Your aunt pays for your stuff, you don't really remember your parents and the only thing you know is that they were a drunk and a prostitute. Since you don't remember well, you can't be sure if your memory is true. It's kind of like the situation my husbands former third seat is in with whether or not he died and came to soul society. The theory may not end up being true though. It's just an interesting theory."

"And I believe that is it."


	38. 38: My Sister

**Title**: My Sister_**  
**_**Genre**: Family/Mild Romance_**  
**_**Characters**: Ryuken, Masaki and Isshin  
**Summary**: Ryuken is over protective of Masaki and doesn't like the idea of Isshin being around, but he finds himself being able to deal with it.  
**Notes:** So I've seen one or more one-shots cropping up where the summary says the story features one-sided Ryuken/Masaki, I'm honestly not surprised as it is possible to come to the conclusion that Ryuken has romantic feelings for Masaki, though I don't agree that interpretation is right. There is at this point no indicator that he thinks of her as a sibling, but I do think that is the way he thinks of her.  
**Rating**: K+

**My Sister**

The idea of marrying Masaki was something that churned his stomach and in the long run wasn't something that he wanted to think about, but every so often it would crop up. What other option though did they have as they needed to maintain the Quincy bloodline and make it so that they would continue on as they were. It was something that had been drilled in to his head as well as the half-Quincy hybrids... there would always be a line of purity to rule over them.

In truth nothing seemed right about the situation and he was constantly trying to think of a way out. Masaki was... well, there was the age gap to start with. The girl was in high school and he was in college and preparing to become a doctor so he could support his future family. Supposidly this future family would have Masaki as the mother and him as the head, but that honestly didn't feel right.

There was also the fact he had watched her grow up from the time she was a tiny baby. He felt a love of a kind for her and if they did indeed marry he guessed it could grow into something more, but the love he felt was honestly that of a brother towards his sister. This wasn't something he could explain to his mother, who felt that the Quincy line needed to continue no matter what and he didn't know how to address his father.

And then there was Katigiri, the untouchable. He had known her since childhood and had grown up with her. She was untouchable because her bloodline was impure. Those of pure blood were to run in the social circles of the pure blood, they were the socially elliete. But there was also the fact that a pure blood having a relationship with a gemischt would only end up tainting the bloodline, thus causing them to never have a chance.

Katigiri had honestly believed that Ryuken had been quite happy with marrying Masaki because he would be marrying her out of love, but then he had to go and tell her that he only cared about the Quincy's future. She of course took it the wrong way and thought he meant that he was choosing to marry Masaki to keep the bloodline pure, but in truth that wasn't what he had been thinking at all. No, he was thinking that he would void the contract his and Masaki's families had agreed to.

And why would he think this? In truth he had in the long run thought about the Quincy's future and realized that there would be no point for him and Masaki marrying as they were the only ones of a pure bloodline. So it went without saying that their children would not be able to marry anyone of pure blood. If she so choose to marry him when she came of age, then he would agree to the marriage, but only then.

And truth be told he hoped that Masaki would out right refuse. He did of course see her as a sister and found himself wanting to chase all the males around her away not because he was jealous, but because that over protective brother syndrome would kick in and he couldn't stand the idea of any male touching or harming his sister. Which is why he became as angry as he did with _that_ particular Shinigami.

_That_ Shinigami had gotten his sister hurt. _That_ Shinigami was the reason she was in so much pain. And there was something else that bothered him that he couldn't put his finger on, something that he wanted to fight against at all costs. And who was he kidding... chances are he wouldn't have voided the marriage simply because of the negative stigma. Doing it just for Masaki's feelings was a joke. There was no opportunity for him to break away, not with the way his mother was watching.

No, not marrying Masaki would break the all important Quincy code. Their children should be the one to deal with this mess. There was no way he could throw away his duty just to make Masaki happy. He would marry her despite the fact she would become a shadow of herself and slowly fade away. Sure, it was wrong when he thought about it, but he didn't want to have any regrets because he choose to save one person.

And then this Isshin said it. He said that he would do it despite the fact it would be rather obvious that he would be sacrificing a lot. In fact, there was no telling _what_ all that man would have to sacrifice just to save Masaki, and she was a complete stranger. But here he was saying yeah, he had a lot of regrets. However, those regrets didn't measure up to doing what was right, saving the person who had in turn saved his life.

It was then that Ryuken felt ashamed of himself and his mind carefully poured over what he was thinking. It was indeed better to have the regrets then to regret not doing the right thing when you could do so. He knew what would happen when they headed home, despite the fact it would cause a major scene. No, his mother wouldn't be happy at all.

He opened his eyes and saw that Masaki was sitting up and suddenly he felt her launch himself at him and wrap her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry to make you worry Ryu-chan."

He felt himself carefully hugging her, feeling that her body was still recovering. He glanced over at the young man who had saved his sister. "I need to explain to you what is going on."

Masaki paused. "He did something to save me, right?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back to the house."

"But what about him?"

"Shiba Isshin?" Urahara turned to look at the young man. "He can stay with me and help me keep my shop for room and board, but..."

"Can't he go back to Soul Society?"

Isshin found himself suddenly smiling at her. "Ahh, don't worry. I came here on important buisness because I had a feeling there was something I had to do."

"_A feeling that there was something he had to do._" Ryuken frowned. "_He had a feeling Masaki was in trouble?_"

"You're lying."

Isshin frowned at her and refused to say anything, so Ryuken decided to speak for him. "He sacrificed his powers so you could live."

"Then shouldn't he come and stay with us."

"_This rather uncouth buffoon? Mother would just die of horror... no, on second thought it would be interesting to see the look on her face when we brought her home. And I really can't refuse Masaki as she is my cute little sister._" Ryuken nodded his head. "He can stay with us. He needs to learn about the world of the living as he is going to be living here and likely doesn't have a clue about anything. You two seem to be around the same age."

The Shinigami... former Shinigami turned and looked at him, scratching his head as he did so. "Huh?"

"_I was thinking of playing matchmaker as you did something pretty amazing for Masaki, but now I'm not wanting you near her again moron._" Ryuken lifted Masaki up. "Well, are you coming or not."

"I don't think she and I are around the same age. I'm over a hundred years old you know." Isshin suddenly piped up.

"Really?" Masaki's interest perked. "I could have sworn you looked to be in high school like myself."

Urahara piped up. "Don't worry... the two of you _are_ around the same physical age. Shinigami age differently. That's something you'll have to get used to Shiba Isshin. You'll be aging differently in that gigai I gave you."

"By the way... do you remember how I said I had a lot of regrets?" Isshin piped up once they had gotten going.

"Now that things are said and done, you're worrying about that?" Ryuken felt himself becoming rather irritated with this young man.

"I just figured I'd forewarn you that some of these regrets may come poking around. Since I can't see Hollows anymore I won't be able to see them either. Saving Masaki-chan though was important, so I didn't have time to warn you. It is as I said a _rather_ long list."

"And they would involve..."

"The head captain of the gotei thirteen burning down your house, my former fukutaicho throwing stuff at my head, my third seat throwing a tantrum and calling Masaki-chan and you Ryu-chan names..."

"It's Ishida thank you very much..."

"And my family coming and crashing your place riding boars. Particularly my youngest brother."

Ryukin suddenly stopped walking, causing Isshin to crash into him as Masaki began to giggle "Stop trying to make jokes."

"I wasn't joking. My twin brother and I found a baby boar and brought it home and now our kid brother rides around with the..."

"Please stop..."

"But it's a funny story Ryukin!"

"He can tell you one of his funny stories later Masaki." The young man arrived back at the place and half expected Isshin to say the place was big, but instead he got no response. They headed in and he saw his mother having a complete fit and his father was already home. Katagiri's eyes were wide as she obviously recognized Isshin and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Ryukin set Masaki down. "We will be having a guest staying with us for awhile. His name is Shiba Isshin."

He watched his father, half expecting him to be upset about bringing home a perfect stranger. The man though just stared at Isshin that spoke up. "You are a Shinigami, are you not?"

"Was is more like it." Isshin spoke up.

"I take it losing your powers was the solution to our Masaki's problem?"

"Yes sir. Please to meet you sir."

"There is no problem with you staying."

"Dear..." Ryukin watched as his mother turned to protest.

"We have a very distinguished guest visiting us. Katagiri, could you make preparations for dinner with that considered?"

"Yes sir." The female had a rather surprised look on her face before taking off to order the other maids around.

"You don't have to go through all that trouble just for me."

"Yes we do!" Masaki began to walk off. "I'm going to go and help Katagiri decide on a menu."

"Why don't I and Isshin head to my office to speak about the future."

"Yes... but." Ryuken's mother didn't say anything, only to glance away. When the two were gone, she turned to her son. "I hope he doesn't interfere with your marriage to Masaki-san."

"Masaki and I aren't going to get married." He watched the look of horror appear on his mother's face. "What is the point of maintaining the bloodline for one more generation? I've been thinking about it and our children can't marry each other, and Masaki and I are like siblings. It doesn't feel right. I am going to go to father's office right now."

"But..."

Ryuken knocked on the door and then headed in. Isshin was sitting in one of the chairs. "I'm surprised that you are fine with the Shinigami staying with us."

"I've always felt that the Shinigami and Quincy should work together. Young man, how would the head of your clan feel about the actions you've taken today."

"He would be quite fine with my actions, however his uncle and the rest of his family would not be."

"Your family will be devastated to lose the head of its family."

"It would be even more devastating for me to not have saved Masaki's life."

"Well, I welcome you to our family."

Ryuken stared at the youthful shinigami. "_Well I'm not sure I'm ready to welcome him. Despite being the supposed head of what ever family he's a part of he is rather crass about everything._"


	39. 39: Burst Bubble (530)

**Title**: Burst Bubble (530)_**  
**_**Genre**: Family/Mild Romance_**  
**_**Characters**: Ichigo and Orihime  
**Summary**: Orihime's "world" comes crashing down and she  
**Notes:** I had a request to elaborate on the theory proposed in "Different Set of Twins". This isn't a sequel though. I may write a few more one-shots with this scenario.  
**Rating**: K+

**Burst Bubble**

Orihime found herself walking along the sidewalk outside of a shop. The summer weather beat down and she found her mind caught off guard by a sudden flutter of iridescent bubbles floating in front of her. She watched as the bobbed up and down in front of her face and finally she reached out one finger to touch the bubble, only to have it pop. She turned her head to see that one of the shop owners had placed a bubble machine in the open door way in an attempt to attract customers.

"_I remember blowing bubbles with Sora. It was a lot of fun, like how making the snow bunnies was fun._" She found her mind drifting off, trying to remember what amounted to a more happy time, when she was with her dear older brother. Something had bothered her since the incident with the Fullbringers, something she had a problem putting her finger on. Orihime found herself walking again, only to turn heel and walk into the shop in hopes that she could get the item she wanted.

Here eyes looked around until they fell upon the package of bubble mixture and plastic wand. She scooped it up and went up to the register to pay for the item. The price was reasonable and she headed to the park, where she saw crepes being sold and she went and bought one with the oddiest flavor before going over to a park bench and sitting down, munching on the treat. "_Wouldn't it be romantic to sit with Ichigo eating crepes and blowing bubbles._"

The girl found herself swallowing suddenly, causing her to cough and have to hit her throat with her fist. Something bothered her, something she couldn't place her finger on. "_Let's see... it bothered me ever since we met the Fullbringers. They said one of them, one of the ones I can't remember, messed with my memories. But what does that have to do with why I am so frustrated when I think about my own brother. Sora was a great brother."_

Fingering her phone, Orhime ran her fingers lightly over the keys as she debated whether or not she should make the call. Finally she pressed the numbers and the phone rang a couple of times. "Uryu-kun?"

"_What is it Orihime?_"

"Do you remember the incident with the Fullbringers? What am I saying?" A smile spread across her face. "Of course you would remember. Do you remember though what memories of mine were tampered with?"

"_I believe they were the ones of your older brother._"

"How so?"

"_He replaced your older brother in your memories with himself._"

"So I was calling this person brother?"

"_No... you actually were not. You called him by his first name. Why do you ask?_"

"I'm not sure. I'll let you go." She closed her eyes and looked up at the sky as she held onto her crepe. Her mind thought about what Uryu had told her. "_If he replaced my brother in my memories wouldn't I be calling him brother as I always called him brother in my memories. Or did he change that in the memory as well? Or did I come to not call him brother later on because I realized we weren't related to each other."_

"Ah! I can't think straight!" Orihime found herself piling into the crepe and downing it with a few quick gulps. "_But what if I didn't call him brother because I didn't always call Sora brother._" The female placed a hand on her cheek. "That would mean he wasn't my real brother." She then shook her head. "If he wasn't my real brother, then who were my real parents? He said they were trying to kill me."

She was about to bite into the treat again, only to find herself pausing again. "But Sora never said that they tried to kill me. He never mentioned them at all, so where did I get the idea that they were trying to kill me from? Actually... where did I get the idea that my father was a drunk and my mother a prostitute from? If she was a prostitute, then my real dad might not be my father? So is Sora my half-brother?"

Orihime finished of the crepe and licked her fingers clean. She then reached into her bag and pulled out the bubbles and began to blow them. She watched as they danced around and she watched them until they popped before blowing another string of bubbles. She blew the bubbles again, only to find herself zoning out. "_But what if what I was told about my parents isn't true and Sora isn't my brother. What is the truth then?_"

"I guess that's why I've been bothered lately." Orihime nodded her head. "_Yes. I don't know who I really am. Sora is the one who raised me, and he was the person I called brother, but would a brother so freely say their sister was like a daughter to them? I don't think so. And why would he go after Ichigo if we weren't related."_

Orihime clapped her hands to her cheek. "_So Sora was romantically attracted to me and was jealous because I had feelings for Ichigo._" Her eyes closed, but then opened back up. "_No, that can't be right. I just thought Ichigo was really cool back then, I didn't start crushing on him until after he rescued me. So why would he be jealous of Ichigo? I mean, it isn't as if Ichigo was family!_"

The female clapped her hand into the palm of her hand. "_Yes! That's right! I can't marry Ichigo if we're related. I mean, if we are forth rung or higher we could, but not if we were siblings. And there is no way that we could be siblings. Ichigo's mom and dad aren't the type to give up a child unless there was a good reason to. I've heard nothing but good thing about his mother and his father is such a lovable goofball._"

She then went back to blowing the bubbles. "_Plus... our birthday's are different. So we can't possibly be siblings._"

The bubbles floated around before landing on a familiar orange shade of hair. Orihime blinked a couple of times as Ichigo stared at her in surprise. He had been avoiding her since the war between the Vandreich for some strange reason. "_Maybe he has some kind of romantic feelings for me and that is why he is avoiding me. He may be worried that I won't reciprocate his feelings. This would be a good time to confess."_

Orihime stood up, knocking her bottle of bubbles onto the floor. "Umm, Kurosaki."

Ichigo let out a sigh and picked up the bottle for her. "What is it?"

"I wanted to... umm." She then bowed towards him just as he was coming up, their foreheads crashing. He rubbed his forehead and frowned at her. "I like you."

"O.K."

"_That wasn't the reaction I was expecting._" Orihime took a deep breath. "I like you and want to date you."

The orange haired teen let out a deep breath of air. "I'm sorry Orihime. I can't reciprocate your feelings. "

"I..." The female blinked a couple of times. "Are you getting together with Rukia?"

"Rukia? Good grief... Uncle Shunsui's dropped hints that I can marry her. I'm not thinking about that right now because we're having to fix some family affairs. I know I've avoided you the last couple of days, but would you like to eat dinner with Yuzu, Karin, dad and me?"

"Ichigo... isn't it a bit odd to ask me to your house after telling me that you can't reciprocate my feelings?"

"Orihime... I told you that right now I'm busy straightening out family affairs. I'm inviting you over because we're family."

"Ahh... we're first cousins? You know we can still have a relationship."

"Orihime..." Ichigo looked at her. "How do I put this?"

"Ahh!" Orihime clapped a hand over her mouth. "We're half siblings? My mother was a prostitute supposedly."

"Yeah... our dad would cheat on our mother." Ichigo watched as she blinked a couple of times. "Apparently our great aunt wasn't happy that our mom didn't marry her son... our mom's cousin. That would be Uryu's dad believe it or not."

"So I could marry Uryu? It's not the same though."

"Umm.. no, it isn't."

"And whose Uncle Shunsui?"

"He's dad's mother's brother..." Ichigo closed his mouth. "Actually, why are you asking who he is? You should know who he is as he is the current head captain of the Gotei Thirteen."

"Wow! Your father is from Soul Society?"

"Our father is from Soul Society. To be exact he was the head of the Shiba clan and is the older brother to Kukaku and Ganju and his twin brother was Shiba Kaien. He was the fukutaicho before Rukia."

"Our dad was?"

"No... Uncle Kaien. Dad was the captain of the tenth division before Toshiro."

"So Toshiro-kun is family too!"

"Kind of... umm..." Ichigo scratched his head. "Toshiro's good friends with Karin and I am not sure which direction their relationship is going."

Orihime nodded her head. "We have a big family."

"Yes..." The orange haired teen looked at her. "Shouldn't you be more bothered by this."

"Uhh... I think my mind is still processing it? Do you want to blow bubbles with me?"

"I need to let Yuzu know if you're coming to dinner or not."

"I'll come."

"That's great."

"Umm.. we don't share the same birthday..."

"It's your adoption day. See you at dinner."

"Sure..." Orihime sat down. She thought of blowing bubbles with the rest of the bubbles, only to find out that the container was completely empty.


	40. 40: Oddities

**Title**: Oddities (530)_**  
**_**Genre**: Mild Romance, Humor_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Kyoraku... and others  
**Summary**: Toshiro asks some questions of a couple of people  
**Notes:** For the humor to work it needs to be assumed that Toshiro does have feelings for Karin  
**Rating**: K+

**Oddity**

Kyoraku sat at his desk looking over the reports for the war. He paused and then glanced up to see Toshiro looking at him. "Ahh... young Hitsugaya, what do I owe this visit too?"

The man smiled at the boy, only to have said smile falter when the boy spoke up. "I would like permission to date your grand niece."

Kyoraku stared at the boy for a few minutes, a frown on his face. He then smiled and closed his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have a niece but no grand niece."

"I know that Kurosaki's father is my former taicho."

"Why aren't you asking Isshin?"

"He's avoiding me so I can't ask him. Plus, I need to ask you first as it involves dating someone in the living world. _Then_ I'm going to ask Kukaku-san."

"Wouldn't my permission be enough all around if you're trying to avoid Isshin and getting revenge."

"No... I need to ask Kukaku-san. I'll see you later."

"Have fun picking on my darling Shin-chan!"

**M**

Ganju led the small taicho down to see his sister. Toshiro knelt down in front of her. "Hi! How are you doing Hitsugaya!"

"I would like permission to date your niece."

"Hell no!" Ganju suddenly waved his arms. "There is no way..."

Kukaku elbowed him in the guy. "What niece? Last time I checked Kaien didn't have any children and I don't think it is a good idea for this one to have children."

"Kurosaki's father is your other brother."

"He knows!" Ganju slapped his hands at the side of his head.

"I'm not stupid."

"But why are you asking me and not Isshin?"

"I got permission from the head captain."

"That still doesn't answer my question. And if you got permission from him as well, why are you asking me?"

"I got permission from him as the head captain to have a relationship with someone from the living world. As for asking you... Karin would be mad if I asked any of her family members for permission to date her before I ask her out, but I can't reconcile the fact it is the honorable thing to do... to ask the family, so I'm asking you as you're her female family member so that should make up for the fact I am asking a family member before asking her."

"O.K."

"That just means sis got what you're talking about, despite the fact I haven't got a clue what you're talking about. She hasn't given you permission to date our niece," Ganju said.

"No... I meant O.K. that I got it and that I was giving him permission to date her."

"What... no!"

"Grow up." Toshiro narrowed his eyes. "You act younger then her twin sister acts."


	41. 41: Perfect Blood Line II: (513)

**Title**: Perfect Blood Line_**  
**_**Genre**: Angst_**  
**_**Characters**: Toshiro, Karin and others.  
**Summary**: Sequel to Perfect Bloodline  
**Notes:** Nothing I can think of  
**Rating**: K+

**Perfect Blood Line II**

Toshiro found himself scooped up by his uncle and hauled off to a room. He found himself shoving the man's arm away in irritation before looking around the room. The room seemed to be put together specifically for someone his physical age, but in reality it was not at all to his tastes. The door clicked behind him and he went over to one of the shelves and knocked the toys over in frustration. He then slammed his fist into the wall before collapsing on the bed.

His hands came up to his forehead and leaned over to try and make his head stop spinning from the information given. "It's not fair. He has no right to do this to any of us."

He then found himself lying on his side and curling up on the bed and taking deep breaths. Eventually the door opened up and he uncovered one eye to look at the man. "Bambietta's returned. You should change your clothing."

"What ever for? So I _look_ like all of you?" The man glared at the boy before going and grabbing the boy under the arm and hauling him up. The boy let the man drag him and frowned at the walls. Eventually they came back to the throne room just in time for him to see Karin holding onto her trembling sister as she glared at the man. Toshiro tried moving forward to help the two girls, only to have his uncle grab his arm. "Don't make a fool of yourself."

The man then pulled him over to the gathering and Karin looked up. "Toshiro! What..." He watched as she paused in what she was saying. She took a deep breath. "Why are you here?"

Toshiro opened his mouth, only to glance away. "I'm not the only one they brought from Soul Society."

Karin took a deep breath. "The others..."

"Other shinigami children. Though I had them bring him here specifically." Juhabach folded his fingers and looked right after her. "This child is..."

"I am not!" Toshiro snapped the words out of his mouth. He felt his uncle suddenly grip his shoulder and tighten it. His own hands tightened at his sides and he glanced away.

The man let out a deep sigh. "Do you girls like stories?"

Yuzu's attention suddenly perked up. "You mean like fairy tails or love stories?"

"Yes... why don't we go to my study and I'll tell you two a story." The man stood up and Toshiro followed.

Karin dropped back to speak to him as Bambietta walked next to Yuzu and pointed out all the sites. She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but noticed how close his uncle stuck to him. Finally they came to the study and they were bid to take seats. Toshiro found himself forced into a chair by his uncle, only to have Bambietta bounce over to sit next to him in the big chair while Karin and Yuzu shared one. It was then that Toshiro realized his grandfather was a very large man.

"So... as for the story." The man sat down and crossed his legs. "Once upon a time there was a princess of a kingdom. Those in charge of running the kingdoms laws decided to sentence a particular group of people to death called the Quincy, but she didn't want to put up with it so she left with the man and ended up eventually marrying him."

"The princess and the man had a sit of twin boys, one as dark as the night sky and one as silvery as the moon in that sky. The silver haired twin was the eldest and both twins were considered to be both part Quincy as well as being part Shinigami as that is what the other people in the Kingdom who were not to be sentenced to death would be called. Shinigami."

"Now, a few of the Quincy remained in the kingdom having given up their special powers. The man sent out a party to bring back a child with Quincy and Shinigami parentage so that one of his sons would be able to marry a pure one, a hybrid or a child of darkness as they were born between two factions that remained at strife to this day."

"The silver haired son fell in love with the red headed girl and ran off with her and they in turn ha a set of twins, one as dark as the night sky and one as silvery as the moon in that sky. The dark haired brother went to the kingdom to try and bring his brother back, but only succeeded in bringing back the dark haired child."

"When he returned, he found that the princess, who was now a queen was dying. She died and passed her very special ability, an ice dragon to the silver haired child. That is how the grandfather was able to eventually find said child and bring the child back home to the kingdom. The king of course had to make preparations for his heir, as the father had died."

"Now, the king had heard of another story. A Shinigami had abandoned his duties and married a Quincy in a world far away and they had children and the king wanted to marry one of these special children to his grandchild. So he had them sent for and brought back to the kingdom so the kingdom could have a wedding."

Juhabach finished and watched the two girls. Yuzu sat on the edge of the chair. "And of course they had the wedding and lived happily ever after, right?"

Toshiro looked up and looked at Karin. She was glaring at the man and every so often would glance between the various people in the room. The man let out a laugh. "Actually, that part of the story hasn't happened yet. I'm actually the king in that story. The man you see over there is my second eldest and those two are my darling grandchildren."

The small taicho opened his mouth to say something, only to have his uncle pinch his shoulder and cover his mouth. Yuzu glanced over. "Toshiro-kun?"

"Yes... he's my grandson."

"So you're like a prince or something like that."

His uncle removed the hand from over his mouth. "_She's eating this all up. This isn't a good thing._"

"Then you want one of us to marry Toshiro?" Yuzu suddenly shuffled through the bag she had with her before pulling out a notebook.

"Yuzu! Not that!" Karin's face suddenly turned pale and she suddenly looked right at Toshiro. He gave her a confused look as he didn't understand why she was so worried.

"It has to be Karin-chan." Yuzu piped up. "I mean, the two of them are dating."

"I told you, we're not..." Toshiro caught the look the two other males in the room gave him and his mouth snapped shut.

"We're not dating Yuzu."

Toshiro felt a finger poke his cheek and his eyes turned to look at the girl that was supposedly... no, was his sister. She was a lot like Rangiku. "You reacted. You like her."

"I've been planning their wedding!" Yuzu piped up, holding up her notebook.

The small shinigami found himself sliding down in the chair, now understanding why Karin dreaded the notebook. Karin of course saw his expression. "Could I please talk to Toshiro privately?"

"That's all right. And you don't _have_ to marry him either one of you, but I would like it."

"And if we _do_ decide to marry you'll wait until we're old enough to marry, right?" Karin glared at the man as he tugged on the shoulder of Bambietta to get her to come with.

The man raised an eyebrow. "That isn't a problem in my opinion." He then turned his head towards Yuzu. "Why don't you show your new friend your room as well as the room she and her sister are staying in."

Yuzu suddenly perked up. "I can show you my notebook and we can do even more planning!"

Bambietta suddenly grabbed the girls hand and they were off as were the two adult males.

Toshiro let out a deep breath before burying his hands in the palm of his hands. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For all of this."

"So you don't want to marry me?" Karin's tone remained consistent and calm.

"No, don't get me wrong..." Toshiro glanced up, his facial features twisting up and revealing his emotions. He let out a deep sigh and looked down again. "Soul Society actually has laws that prevent me from dating you. I mean, I might be able to date and marry you because you're half shinigami, but that would only be if the rules have changed enough to allow it."

"And..."

"And in the long run the decision is ultimately yours."

"Since we don't have to marry until we're old enough, that should buy Ichi-nii some time to get here and rescue all of us, right?"

Toshiro glanced up. "Ichi-nii?" His teal eyes went to the ground again. "I'm going to admit here that my egos gotten a major thrashing here as I should be the one... I promised him I'd keep you safe."

"You are." Karin then asked a question. "Who are your mom and dad?"

"My mom? You met her, though I honestly didn't now at the time she was my mother. She'd _love_ for the two of us to get married."

"And your father. Do you know who he is?"

"You mean the man I look like and share some very nasty traits with?"

"Why do you talk about yourself like that?"

"My father is... was.., a psychopath. He had a horrible blood lust."

"Doesn't matter."

"What?"

"I've got a messed up family too."

A faint smile crossed his lips.


	42. 42: Home (539)

**Title: **Home  
**Genre:** Friendship/Family/Hurt-Comfort  
**Characters:** Toshiro and his division members  
**Summary:** There was always that aching question of where he belonged. Apprehensively Toshiro takes a step forward and in getting to know his division members and they him he finds he is very much where he belongs.  
**Notes:** Do any of you who've read Admiration remember a character I called "old man thunder"? Well, the kendo instructor's actually how I pictured "old man thunder", except he's younger and more spry and without white hair.  
**Rating:** K+

**Home**

The small taicho faced forward and continued to move his arms up and down in a steady rhythm with the rest of his division. His concentration remained focused on the front of the dojo. No one commented on his lack of height, nor did they note that his white hair and strange colored eyes made him stand out. Everything went a lot better then he had thought it would, until a grumbling feeling was felt in his stomach as well as heard.

A few of the shinigami paused in their place, while others turned their heads to look at him along with the instructor of the dojo. The man's eyes looked at him carefully as Toshiro felt his cheeks flush up slightly. The man simply kept his arms held behind his back. "I think it's time for lunch."

The boy's shoulders suddenly relaxed as the division members went about putting their wooden swords up. Toshiro proceeded to do the same, glad that no one else had chosen to speak about the incident. One of his men spoke up, causing him to turn. "Um... taicho..."

"What is it?" The boy looked at the man, his throat tightening. "_Here it comes, some comment about not being able to control my stomach._"

"Would you like to join the rest of us in the eating area?"

Toshiro's eyes widened, the surprise about being invited to join them catching him off guard. He could feel his one hand tighten around the blade he was holding as his mouth opened. "_I don't understand. They've never invited me before._"

"You've never joined us before," the man continued.

"_I've never been invited before._" The boy opened his mouth to say yes, but then remembered something important. He made a quick bow to the men. "While I appreciate the offer, I made prior arrangements with Matsumoto to meet up with her for lunch."

Silence fell over the room. One of the other men spoke up. "Surely she wouldn't mind just this once?"

Toshiro found himself standing up straight, his mind going into panic about what his fukutaicho would think. "If I don't show up in the office for lunch, she'll panic."

He watched as the men glanced at each other and found himself biting his lip. "_This was going well too._"

The instructor stepped forward. "Why don't I go with you to speak with her?"

"She won't be happy about the change in plans."

"Believe me, I don't think she'll mind." The man spoke up as he headed to the door. "Are you coming or not?"

Toshiro found himself placing the sword onto the rack, only to knock it and a few others off. One of the men waved him off. "We'll take care of it. It's best not to upset old man thunder."

The small taicho then turned and hurried off behind the old man, his hands tucked behind his back. When the door to the division opened, Rangiku's voice came at him louder then he ever expected the kendo instructor to be. "Taicho! Where ever did you get to! I was worried sick!"

"The taicho was with me in the dojo Ran-chan." The man smiled at her, while Toshiro found himself shrinking against the wall, unable to look her in the eye.

"Really?" Rangiku turned her head to look at the boy. "Why is he acting like he's in trouble then?"

The man turned to look at the small taicho, his eyebrow raising up. "I think that may have to do with the fact you yelled at him."

"I see." The woman crossed her arms. "Taicho, what do you want for lunch?"

Toshiro's eyes went wide, his mouth opening. His eyes darted towards the man, before going back. Old man thunder spoke up. "Actually, some of the men asked taicho if he would join them for lunch. You don't mind your plans with him being postponed."

"Of course not. I might join you guys as well." Rangiku glanced at the papers. "Let me finish up this bit of paper work." The woman paused before turning back. "In case I don't get to the eating area myself, could you make sure that taicho gets plenty to eat?"

"I will."

The two then left the offices. Toshiro's mouth twisted up into a frown. "I can't believe that she said that."

"She's just looking out for you." The comment from the kendo instructor. The boy froze, realizing that his words had been out loud. A calloused hand reached out and ruffled the white head of hair. "If the previous taicho had his way, you'd have had more time to be a child. It's not that big of a deal."

The two arrived where the food was being served and one of the division members spoke up. "Hey! Old man thunder managed to bring taicho."

"I bet his voice scared Matsumoto Fukutaicho into letting taicho come." Laughter came from a few of the men.

"Now, now." The man headed to the line, Toshiro following on his heals. The boy watched as the man took food and put it onto his trey. Carefully he took the same things, only to find a few extra portions places onto his trey. "I watched the Shiba boys grow up. I know full well how much someone with your age as well as power level needs to eat."

The small taicho continued to follow the man. They sat down at the head table and Toshiro began to eat the food. Every so often he glanced up, listening to his men speak. Every so often one of the men would say something and he would nod his head or shake it, his voice not coming out of his throat. Old man thunder's voice caused him to turn his head towards the older shinigami.

"The last time you were in here was when the previous taicho was still around, wasn't it."

"Yes... I never really came in here without him or Matsumoto. Mostly him."

"Did you know he would purposefully hide snacks around the office to make sure you ate more then you would have."

"No... but that sounds like him." Toshiro continued to eat. "_This isn't so bad._"


	43. 43: Zan and Zin

**Title: **Zan and Zin  
**Genre:** General  
**Characters:** Ichigo and Zangetsu  
**Summary:** Theoretical piece on the discussion between the two as of chapter 540.  
**Notes:** None  
**Rating:** K+

**Zan and Zin**

"_Zangetsu?_" The thought passed through Ichigo's mind. "_Zangetsu and Juhabach are one and t he same?_"

How though can that be? Zangetsu actually cared about his safety while Juhabach had no problems throwing away his own men to further his plotting. No... Juhabach had no problem throwing away his own family Zangetsu had made it clear that it was his job to protect him.

But from what? Was it really the loss of his powers or was it from his own hollow. His hollow had become with his powers, but wasn't the Quincy also once Shinigami. That was why he was able to preform blunt when his powers reawakened. He was full blood because of that, right? Or had he in reality managed to learn blunt through Zangetsu. If Zangetsu was representative of his abilities inherited from Juhabach, then wouldn't that mean he should have learned blunt sooner.

Something was off. Something needed to be explained. Perhaps it was time for the truth to come out. This time Ichigo spoke so that the spirit could here him. "Zangetsu. What are you?"

There came a moment of silence before Zangetsu spoke again. "A memory."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It is not incorrect to say that I am representative of him as well as your heritage as one of his blood line."

"Why did you hide that from me, that I was a Quincy?"

"Strange isn't it how I had you learn of your Shinigami blood instead."

"What reason would Juhabach have for me learning of my Shinigami powers before my Quincy abilities? This is a part of his plan, isn't it?"

"Think Ichigo."

Silence came. Then after a few minutes Ichigo spoke. "Wouldn't allowing me to have my Shinigami powers allow me to interact first with the Shinigami/ Did he want me to think of them as monsters? They may have a problem, but they're human. So he failed."

"Juhabach and I are not the same person."

"That's a bit hard to believe."

"As I told you, I'm a memory."

"As I also said, what does that mean."

"What does a memory represent?"

"A memory represents something that once was." Realization came to Ichigo. "You aren't Juhabach. You're who he used to be."

"There was a time that he didn't see the Shinigami as monsters despite the fact they did see themselves as monsters."

"Why though..." Ichigo frowned. "Why is it that he changed his view point."

"To prove one is a monster or one is not, how much fighting must first occur? Is your hollow a monster or am I?"

"Neighter."

"But bother are, if used the wrong way. Juhabach went down the wrong path, thus he became a monster and those who were once monsters switched places."

"In other words it is my choice whether to become a monster or not."

"It is time to say goodbye."

"What ever for?"

"You've accepted the truth."

"So you're just going to go away?"

"Do you remember when you lost your powers?"

"Yes."

"Good-bye is only forever in death. So do not die Ichigo."


	44. 44: The Lies We Tell (543)

**Title: ****_The Lies We Tell  
_****Genre: **General, Slice of Life  
**Characters:** Mostly various Vandenriech and Toshiro  
**Summary: **The lies that have been told... the half truths that eat away at the soul. Toshiro is finding himself being thrown into a pit of lies without realizing it.  
**Rating:** K+  
**Notes: **I have a few one-shots partially written and I have others that I'm going to write despite not necessarily being compliant with later chapters, but this is inspired by 543. Pretty much I'm working out some kinks in the theories I came up with. Not that it matters whether the theories I come up with turn out true. That's part of the fun of theoretical work. Also... I ask for a bit of willing suspense of disbelief when it comes to this particular chapter. The Vandenriech has attacked soul society again and taken Toshiro away. Also, a bit of shuffling with the relationships for this one. :D

**The Lies We Tell**

Toshiro sat on the floor of the jail cell, his knees folded up to his chest, his chin resting on his knees. His stomach was tumbling from the stress as he fumed over the fact he hadn't been strong enough in the latest attack to protect his division and had even gone so far as to have been captured. What he found himself fuming the most over was the fact he had been captured by someone he had considered a friend.

Ishida Uryu had shown up, causing the young Shinigami to question his actions simply because he viewed the Quincy as a friend. He also verbally questioned the physically older male about why he was doing it, but only received the typical response about the Quincy honor. Thus he had ended up captured, the sting of his defeat made worse due to the fact he had trusted the young man as an ally, but to be honest he should have also been smart enough to see it happening.

He also found himself wishing more then he ever had that Ichigo would have shown up, but his training with Zero Squad wasn't complete. Of course, there was the fact it was honestly advantageous to move before Ichigo came back. That was the best strategy that came to Toshiro's mind as he sat there in the cell thinking about his plight, not wanting to think about what would happen to him or his friends back in Soul Society.

The door opened and the boy looked up to see Uryu approaching him. A frown pressed forward on the boy's lips. "Traitor."

"Excuse me?" Uryu looked at the boy in surprise. "I don't have ties to Soul Society."

Toshiro frowned, thinking about the others words for a bit, thinking also about why he had chosen to call him a traitor. "I trusted you."

"I know that."

The small Shinigami felt his throat tighten. "You know that? You don't care about the fact because I am a Shinigami?"

The blue haired teen looked at him, frowning. "Trust isn't always about doing what the person wants, but it is always about doing what is best for said person."

"Don't give me that shit. Best for me?" Toshiro narrowed his eyes at Uryu. "Why do I get the idea that this only applies towards myself? If so, why am I being singled out."

There came another silence as the boy watched the physically older male. The blue haired teen leaned against the wall. "At this point what you need to know is that your safe and no harm will come to you. Things are complicated."

"Let me make it clear that I am not some child who needs protection Ishida." Two bright eyes continued to look at the other.

"Let me make it clear despite the fact you believe otherwise that you are still a child. That is why I'm doing what I am doing."

Toshiro's hands clenched the edge of the bench while his teeth gritted. "At what cost? I'm not stupid you know."

"Neither am I."

Toshiro let out a deep sigh before glancing to the side. "Let me be frank here. What is going to happen to me?"

"As I said, it is complicated. All you need to know is that nothing bad is going to happen to you. You don't have to worry about anything."

"Anything?" The boy looked up, anger in his eyes. "I worry about the others in Soul Society. They're my acquaintances. No... I think I should be more specific for once about my feelings. I care about those in Soul Society. They're... they're more then just friends. They're family."

"You need to get used to the fact the Vandenreich is your family." Uryu continued watching the boy.

Toshiro gritted his teeth again. "You think I'm happy about this?"

"I know you're not. I told you that trust isn't just about doing what makes a person happy. It's always about doing what is best for the person. As I've told you, there is only so much I can explain at this point."

"Get the hell out."

"As you wish. I'll be back later though."

…_drowning in lies...  
...the last Quincy is not the last Quincy...  
...Juhabach's lie..._

"Why me?" Uryu looked at the pale haired Quincy in front of him, his mouth frowning. "There is nothing special about me if the Quincy are left alive. I'm quite sure that he has plenty of others that he can choose from."

"Honestly, I have an idea behind his reasoning, but he'll likely want to explain it to you himself. As such I agree with his choice, but understand that you will meet with opposition from some of the others but I will stand by it as it is the decision that is best for him in the long run."

"Of our majesty?" The blue haired teen glanced at the ground.

"Him..." There was a period of silence. "What if I were to tell you that you'll be allowed to protect something important to you? I can't go into specifics of what that is here."

"Are you saying this important thing to me wouldn't be protected if I didn't choose to join your side."

"No. The important thing will be protected whether you choose to join or not. The question is whether or not you are going to be the one to protect this important thing. Of course, you won't know what this important thing is until you swear allegiance to our majesty and you won't have your task explained to you until then. It is however something that is indeed important to you."

Uryu found himself swallowing as he remembered his grandfather's words about protecting something that was important being part of the Quincy's honor. For some reason the old man had felt the need to drive that into his head. The blue haired teen finally stood up. "Fine."

He then found himself dragged to the court where only his majesty was present. He made a bow, swearing his allegiance hoping that what he was to protect really was important to him. Of course, this would be a perfect trick to get him to join. The man then spoke up. "You can stand up."

"Hai." The teen looked at the man, noting how fearsome he was.

"Did you know that all the Quincy are of my bloodline?"

"Is the important thing you want me to protect family? I don't exactly have good bonds with my family. I'm also assuming that's why you called me your son."

"Yes and no." The man folded his fingers. "You are the last Quincy left alive from the living world are you not?"

Uryu blinked a couple of times. "There is my father."

"Your father wants nothing to do with this. He made that clear a long time ago, so he is considered dead to us. However, we won't seek his death either if that matters to you any."

"Not much."

"The man who brought you here is named Jugram Hashwalth. He is my son through my favorite wife."

"Then that means he's your heir." Uryu continued to watch the man carefully.

"No. I'm actually going to be naming you my successor, but as my successor you aren't the heir either." Juhabach narrowed his eyes at the young Quincy. "You are confused, so I'll explain this some more. While some of the Quincy believe that Jugram is the eldest son of my favorite wife he is not. My son that is actually the eldest disappeared on me and has since passed on. He did however have a son of his own."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"My grandson is in fact still a child. Thus if something were to happen to me he would need someone to rule in his place until he is old enough to make decisions on his own as well as prevent the other Vandenreich from using him to their own goals. Since you are an outsider you are less likely to be influenced by the politics here and would be unbiased."

"There has to be more to this. I was told that I would be protecting something important to me, but I know of no child Quincy that is male. I only know of Kurosaki's two sisters and obviously they are half Quincy, half Shinigami."

"Actually, you have me this child. He's the child taicho of the Gotei Thirteen."

"Hitsugaya?" Uryu narrowed his eyes. "He's happy enough where he is. Also, how can he be your grandson?"

"My heir tried hiding the child from me. We are going to bring him here with or without you. It isn't a matter of what makes him happy, but what is best for him. We are his family, the Shinigami are not. On top of this the Shinigami use him as a weapon and care not one bit about using him as such. Hasn't it bothered you that someone as young as Kurosaki's sisters is fighting like this child is?"

The blue haired teen remained silent, thinking about what the man said, carefully picking his words. "Its not something I would ever choose to say to his face."

"If he is here, he no longer has to fight. If possible we won't inform him of what is going on until the battle with Soul Society is finished, but there is a chance things will have to be explained to him." The man watched as Uryu glanced away. "You bonded with the child and think of his as a close friend. Now you know this child is also family. Will you do what is best for him."

Uryu clenched his fists. "Despite the fact I don't agree with your actions of taking him away from the place he considers to be his home, I will not let him shoulder the burden on his own."

"That is the answer I am looking for."

…_many will lie...  
...Juhabach's heir is not his heir...  
...the family's secret lie..._

Bazz-B's mood was dark as he stormed down the hall to the jail cell. He slammed the door open, causing the child inside to flinch. "First his majesty names that no name as his successor and now we bring back some piece of Shinigami shit and we're not allowed to execute him despite the fact he is a captain. The majesty has lost his mind and I'm not going to stand for it."

Toshiro turned to look at him, frowning as he did so. "A word of advice here. I know as much as you do as to why I am spared, but I think it is in your best interest not to harm me, not that I really care. I'm simply putting forth the idea that you won't get away unscathed if you injure or kill me."

"Why would some brat Shinigami care about my well being? We're enemies you know."

"Are we?" The boy went back to looking at the wall. "I would certainly be treating all of you as an enemy if left to my own means. On the other hand I know full well I'm not being treated like an enemy either."

"You didn't answer my question brat. Why are you acting like you care about my well being? Are you stupid?"

"I honestly don't care about fighting in the first place and don't see why we even have to find."

"Oi... you just said you would be treating me like an enemy."

"As a member of the Gotei Thirteen it would be my duty to fight you. Apparently though I am a prisoner of war now and need to act accordingly. Of course... I'm also under the impression that I'm not seen as a prisoner of war."

"Fuck you." Bazz-B stepped forward, grabbing the boy and lifting him up into the air. "Do you want me to crush your skull."

"Honestly, do as you wish. I doubt you'll like the consequences if you do."

"You..."

"Oi... put the kid down." The door snapped shut. "Seriously... Juhabach won't be happy with you picking fights with a kid."

"Butting in again Askin?"

The man stepped forward and looked right at Toshiro, frowning as he did so. "The kid looks like oka-sama." Suddenly, the man elbowed Bazz-B roughly, causing him to drop the boy. "Yup... same hair and eye color as well."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Who does he look like to you?"

"The brat looks like a mini version of Haschwalth. What of it?" Bazz-B let out a laugh. "You aren't telling me that Haschwalth went and knocked up some woman and had a kid? He's too straight laced for that. The fact he's not standing up to his majesty for his rightful inheritance is beyond irritating. Even if that isn't true..."

"What are the two of you doing here?"

The two Quincy glanced up to see Uryu standing in the door, a trey of food in his hands. "Hitsugaya is to have limited visitors. You haven't told him anything he isn't supposed to know yet have you?"

"What ever they told me I was already figuring out on my own." Toshiro glanced at the ground. "I'm also not hungry."

"You're not hungry because you're depressed. You know as well as I that you need to keep up your energy, so eat." Uryu set the trey down, before turning to leave with the two men. He glared at the two of them. "Don't approach him again without permission."

"Screw you." Bazz-B took off, his stride revealing his irritation.

Uryu continued on his way, only to pause upon realizing that Askin was following him. "What do you want?"

"That kid is my psychopath half-brother's kid, isn't he."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I'm one of the inner family, though not of the first wife. I know full well that Jugram isn't our majesties heir, his older twin brother is. So does Cang Du despite being demoted and a few others. Eventually others of the inner most circle are going to figure it out."

"So?"

"Every single person who hasn't protested you being his majesties successor is a member of the inner circle, or once was of the inner circle. Every single one of them will figure out, not to mention there has been some suspicion that something like this is going on. However, you do have to worry about Baba-chan."

"And she would be?"

"The youngest member of the inner circle other then that kid back there. As they are as young as they are, neither one of them know. All Baba-chan knows is she's got a bunch of uncles looking out for her, her care taker being Cang Du as he's the one who brought her back. Lost his tongue too when he did to our nii-sama. That's how much a psychopath that one is... or was. It's also why Cang Du got demoted."

"And I have to worry about her because?"

"Baba-chan was expecting one of her uncles to get the position. She dotes on every single one of us, but then we all spoil her rotten. She doesn't know she has a brother... likely a twin I say as they look to be the same age. It hasn't crossed her mind either that her parent was the heir either. She doesn't like you. No, she doesn't like you one bit."

…_the unsaid truth...  
...what betided the family ties they have...  
...an unsaid truth to a child..._

"_I do not like him._" That was the decision Bambietta made when she heard that Ishida Uryu was going to be her grandfather's successor rather then one of her uncles. She found herself walking through the halls, fuming as she did so and breaking a few things.

"What are you doing?" A voice broke her from her concentration, causing her to look up. "You're to close to his majesties quarters. You know that he doesn't like being disturbed."

"Why didn't he pick you?"

"Are you going to barge in and demand answers from him? You know I can't allow that. He may not kill you for having an insolent tongue, but he will certainly tan your hide."

"He won't give me answers?"

"Why would you think he would?"

"Because I'll ask nicely."

"Oh... and what if he says it is none of your concern."

"I don't know why adults do things."

"I have an idea why he did this. No, I know why he did this. Eventually you'll find out as well."

"Can I have a hint."

The man paused, frowning as he did so. "Eventually you'll meet a certain person and when you see said person you'll understand. That's all I'll tell you."

…_a self told lie...  
...a child who didn't die but was born...  
...Toshiro's lie..._

"Yo!"

Toshiro's head jolted up, before turning to look at the stranger. He had been the second stranger to have entered the jail cell. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" The man eyeballed the trey of food left on the bench. "I'd like you to eat your food."

"No you too... or are you under orders from Ishida-sama to force me to eat."

"No... growing kids need their nutrients." The man's voice had a funny accent. Something hit Toshiro in the head before falling to the ground. The boy glanced down to see a small bag sitting on the floor. Carefully he picked it up before frowning. "If he comes back you can tell him you ate the treat I gave you."

One of Toshiro's eyebrows rose up. "Are you here under his orders?"

"I'm actually under his orders to stay away, but I'm not one for obeying orders unless I see fit."

"You sound like Kurosaki."

"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment."

"Kurosaki will stop you guys."

"I guess I should take it as a compliment since you seem to admire that guy, but I doubt he'll be able to stop us."

"He won't just be able to stop you, he'll do it with minimal blood shed." Toshiro looked at the bag, before opening it out of curiosity. Upon seeing the contents his eyes went wide before he clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Is something the matter?"

The small taicho closed the bag before flinging it across to the other side. "I _hate_ dried persimmons."

The man folded his arms across his chest. "Funny... your mother and father loved dried persimmons. Your..."

"Wait..." Toshiro turned to look at him. "I thought you weren't supposed to tell me anything, but did you just say what I think you did?"

"About your parents liking dried persimmons? What of it?"

"This is some cruel joke, right?"

The man narrowed his eyes at the boy. "What do you mean by that?"

"I died on a plain of ice and ended up in Soul Society. I don't _have_ any parents."

"Where the hell did you get that idea. I can tell just by looking at you who your father is and the only person I can think of who could be your mother would be that girl."

Toshiro swallowed. "She wouldn't abandon me. I know her. Him I can see doing it, but not her."

The man narrowed his eyes. "My half-brother didn't agree with our ways. That's why he ran off with that girl. Do you think he'd actually want us finding you? Simple fact is he decided to hide you. Whether she knows or not I don't know."

"Matsumoto wouldn't lie to me."

"Matsumoto?"

"Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku."

"Those aren't their real names kid. I bet he came up with them."

"She still would have told me!"

The man frowned with that strange scowl of his. "Really?"

Toshiro frowned. "She's not a very good liar."

The man scratches his head. "No... she never was." After a few minutes of staring at each other the man spoke up again. "I guess she doesn't remember for some reason." The man reached into his sleeve again. "Here... this was oka-sama's favorite."

Toshiro caught the bag. When he opened it, his eyes became wide. "Amanatto?"

"I figured as much as you look like her."

The boy looked up at the man. "What was so special about her?"

"Her? She let us call her mother despite not being our real mother. It didn't matter that our mothers were part of father's harem."

"Ishida's going to be mad at you for telling me this you know."

"What kind of connection do you have to that nerdy kid."

"He's on of Kurosaki's friends." Toshiro looked at the treat, debating whether to eat it or not.

"Then why is he siding with us? Because he's a Quincy?"

Toshiro's head paused, before turning to look at the man with wide, bright teal eyes. "No. Don't tell him you told me this stuff. I'm just going to say if he asks that you brought me a treat to try and get me to eat. I have an idea what's going on. He's honestly trying to protect me you know, though I disagree with his methods."

"Uh-huh. Why is he protecting you?"

"Duty, Quincy honor. I honestly don't know. May have something to do with him not liking the fact I'm a child solider."

"Oh... Baba-chan isn't going to like that, but then again she's not going to like that fact she's likely going to be left out of the final battle plans."

"Whose Baba-chan?"

"Oh... you'll meet her eventually. She's your age. I think you'll like her."

"Because she's my age? I don't get along well with most people my age."

"I think you'll get it when you meet her.

…_feelings can lie...  
...the feeling of being alone with no family...  
...the twins' lie..._

Toshiro decided to be compliant simply because there was nothing else he could do and the entire Vandenreich were watching him like a hawk. After a couple of days Uryu made the decision to allow him to wander about the place with someone to escort him around. Said person had said there had been specific instructions given to not lay a finger on him, to which he didn't care and simply zoned out.

He was also made to change his clothing. Thankfully he was allowed to wear a simple kimono and not the uniform. Chances are Uryu arranged it so that he would be more comfortable, knowing full well that he would turn down the first choice given, the overly stuffy uniform. As he walked behind the person, he suddenly heard a voice coming from the hall way.

"You!"

This caused Toshiro to turn just in time to see a small female dressed in the Vandenreich uniform suddenly surge forward, a few other children not dressed in uniform watching from the side. The person with the small taicho spoke up. "Lady Bambietta..."

"You..." The girl poked him in the chest, her nose coming to touch his. However, the angry look quickly dissipated. "Do I know you?"

Toshiro blinked a couple of times. "I don't remember us ever meeting."

"Why do I have the feeling we've met before?"

This caused the silver haired child to glance away, frowning as he did so. "I don't know..."

"Do you have the feeling we've met despite the fact we don't remember having met."

The small taicho paused, wishing she hadn't brought up what he had been avoiding thinking. "Yes... that feeling is there."

"Lady Bambietta..." The guide frowned at her. "He's just a lowly Shinigami."

"He looks like uncle. Are you one of uncles children?"

"I don't think so. You're referring to someone you definitely know, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"This person your referring to is here in the Vandenreich and has always as long as you remembered been a part, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then they aren't my parent."

The female folded her arms. "Why then do you look like him? Are you sure that your father isn't one of my uncles."

Toshiro turned fully around and looked at her. "Positive. Where exactly is this going?"

"I don't know... hold on." Bambietta counted on her fingers before suddenly pausing. She looked up at him. "I forgot someone."

"Who?"

"Papa."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Papa's the only sibling who isn't around."

Toshiro's eye's widened. "That's... no... uh-uh."

The dark haired female quickly hugged him around the neck. "Nii-chan!"

The silver haired boy's jaw drop as his cheeks flushed up. "Now hold on. Just because I look like a relative of yours doesn't mean I am a relative."

He could feel her chin move against his shoulder as she shook his head. "No... you're my nii-chan."

The man who had been leading Toshiro around frowned. "Lady Bambietta..."

It was then that a loud sound came from the side. "Oi... what is that kid doing out and why is Lady Bambietta hugging him. He's our enemy you know."

Toshiro turned his head to see Bazz-B Storming over. Bambietta though stepped inbetween. "My nii-chan isn't the enemy. You leave him alone or I'll tell grandfather that you're being a bully again."

The man let out an irritated sound. "He ain't your nii-chan."

"He looks like uncle!"

The man paused, looking at the boy carefully. "So I've been told."

"He said his papa wasn't any of the uncles."

"So. That ain't mean he's related."

"Papa must have looked like uncle!" Bambietta turned her head to look at him. "Don't you think so?"

Toshiro frowned. "Don't you look like all of your uncles?"

The female paused. "You haven't met him then? I told you that you look like him. Is papa... your papa... does he look like uncle."

"If you mean does my father have the same coloring as me, he does."

"Just because his papa looks like your uncle doesn't mean his papa is your papa as well."

Toshiro frowned. "I don't like you."

"So... you're our enemy."

"I guess so."

"See... he's not related to you."

"One of her uncles wouldn't happen to be that man?" Toshiro glanced away.

"That man?"

"He interrupted our first meeting."

"What of it?"

"He came back later despite being told not to visit me. He insisted that my father was his half-brother."

"Oi... that would mean your papa was the brother of..." The man paused, suddenly paling. "Nobody said he had a full blood brother."

"Uncle? Why would they have to be full blood brothers? What's the difference between half-brothers and full blood brothers?" Bambietta blinked a couple of times. "Does this have anything to do with why that icky guy was named successor and not uncle?"

"That brat Ishida's a damn _sessho_."

Toshiro let out a deep sigh before looking away. "I guess so. Not that I really care."

"Haschwalth should have been named your _sessho_."

"Look... I _hate_ politics, so can you shut the hell up. As I said, I don't like you."

"Hey..." Bambietta spoke up. "I don't know what any of this regent business is. Can someone explain?"

The small silver haired boy took a deep breath. "A _sessho_ is someone who helps a child leader rule until they come of age."

"So the icky guy is only going to be the successor until someone comes to age." The female folded her arms. "Uncle was the heir though as he's the son of grandfathers favorite wife."

Toshiro paused. "Are you really my sister?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're not very bright."

"Hey!"

"Just think about why he wouldn't be heir."

"That would mean there was an older... oh!"

"Yeah... just don't tell Ishida that I know all this stuff. He'll know a gasket."

"Don't tell me that you don't know what Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro paused, his mouth twitching. Bambietta turned to look at the blue haired male. "Hey... icky guy. Why don't my brother and I share the same name?"

"Why does it matter? It isn't as if we share the same last name as our father and mother. We also got caught because we stopped in the hall way."

"Hitsugaya... why are you talking like you've done something wrong. Also, what do you mean by neither of you share the same last names as your parents?"

The boy turned to look at Uryu. "Our parents are Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku. I'm in trouble because I wasn't supposed to find out, right?"

Uryu sighed before pushing up his glasses.


	45. 45: Siblings (543)

**Title: Siblings****_  
_****Genre:** Family  
**Characters:** Gin, Jugram, Cang and a few of Juhabach's wives.  
**Summary:** Gin is his usual self. Pretty much his interactions between two of his possible siblings.  
**Rating:** K  
**Notes: **I've got a lot of one-shots planned, but no telling when I'll get them written. This one though was simple, though originally it was going to be longer. It just... felt complete as is.

**Siblings**

Softly the rain poured down, dripping off the features of the silver haired child. He sat up on a high perch watching said rain come down. A soft voice broke him from his trance. "Your highness... you'll catch illness if you remain there."

The boy locked down to see a Chinese woman with dark hair and a small babe in her arms. He jumped down. "Ka-du."

"You're soaking wet. Your mother will be displeased."

"Ka-du's also my mother and I can tell she is displeased." the boy bent closer to the infant in her arms, a smile on his face. "How's Co-chan today?"

"Oi... I'm only your father's concubine and even then I'm of a low status even among the other concubines."

The boy stepped back and raised his arms wide, "Ka-du's always nice to me and treats me as if I'm one of her own. You also lecture me just as much as mother does about what I should or shouldn't do. The others just let me do what I want to do."

"You're the crown prince." The woman sighed before shuffling the infant in her arms. "Cong... say hello to your nii-sama."

The small child instead snuggled closer to his mother while the silver haired child frowned. "Co-chan doesn't want to say hello?"

This comment caused the child to blink a couple of times, before reaching out for the older child. The silver haired boy took him in his arms. The woman let out a deep sigh. "You're soaking wet. Come..." She touched the silver haired child's shoulders and turned him around. "... let's get you dried off."

The three headed down the hallways inside until they came to a warm room. Another silver haired child sat in a chair reading a book while a silver haired female worked on her embroidery. The other silver haired boy looked up. "Nii-sama... you need to act more befitting of your status."

The silver haired female started, turning to look at her son. A hand went to her mouth. "You're getting you're baby brother soaked as well."

The dark haired woman went and grabbed a towel and began to dry the white haired child's hair. "His highness is a mischievous child, but he has a heart of gold and loves his little brother."

"It isn't as if he gets along with our other siblings. Watch... when Cong gets older he'll lose interest like always."

"I never lost interest in Ju-chan."

"That's because I'm your younger twin."

"No. You treat me like I'm normal."

"except you're not normal. You're the only one of us children that doesn't act your status. Nii-sama, you need to act like you're the crown prince."

"Why, when you can just pretend to be me? You'd be a better kind any ways."

"Don't go there idiot."


End file.
